The Potters and Dumbledore's Secret
by Emerald Stag
Summary: AU. Book 1 of the Stagverse series. The Potters survived Halloween 1981. Harry tries to deal with his first year at Hogwarts. But not everything can go smoothly, Dumbledore is hiding something at Hogwarts and a teacher seems to be after it! HIATUS
1. Halloween

**Chapter One - Halloween**

James Potter was proud to be known as a brave wizard, having a vital role in the current war, his place cemented by his family's long standing history as light-sided wizards and witches. It took a lot to strike fear in the heart of Mr. Potter, especially considering he'd already had encounters with the infamous Lord Voldemort, but on this day, it only took blazing green eyes.

These eyes happened to belong to Mrs. Potter, his wife, Lily Potter, who was currently staring down James in the hallway of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries after the incident that had occurred that night at their Godric's Hollow cottage.

"James, how can you say that!" Lily asked incredulously, "Even though Petunia and Vernon are vile muggles, they're family and we have to take the high road… for my parents."

"Look Lily Flower, no offense meant. I didn't spill that sleeping draught into Vernon's glass," James answered, embracing Lily, "even if it's what I wish I'd done."

"Well…" Lily replied, her shoulders shaking with mirth, "at least we know Harry is yours. Only a Potter could act that innocent."

"A Marauder!" James corrected her. "He's going to be a terror at Hogwarts--"

James was interrupted by a loud crash and belligerent yelling coming from the adjacent examining room. The Potters rolled their eyes and dutifully walked towards the loud room, closing the door behind them.

* * *

Harry James Potter was a bright boy of just over a year old, and while he had the innocence of a baby, the genes of the brilliant Lily and mischievous James were already shining through. Harry was currently napping in his nursery crib; after all, he had been through an ordeal earlier that night, having to endure his aunt and uncle, who he only knew as loud people who didn't come over often or stay near him when they did. He had decided to clean off the piece of the dining room table his chair was near and unknowingly knocked his mum's sleeping draught into his uncle's glass. 

Harry's grandparents, Charles and Mari Evans, were downstairs in the den listening to the Wizard Wireless while they waited for their daughters and sons-in-law to return from the wizard hospital. They had been staying with the Potters for the last month and had coerced the Dursley's into visiting for Halloween. While the times were dangerous in the wizarding world, Charles and Mari were confident in the precautions their Lily had taken and had been safe in the quiet neighborhood. Yet even they couldn't see the betrayal that had been happening for the last few months, and that it was about to culminate that very night.

* * *

A disheveled man crouched by a bush, leaning over to listen to the conversations he heard at the campsite a few feet away. He was assigned this mission a few days ago, but he knew it was a worthless cause. The werewolves were a bloodthirsty bunch. Lord Voldemort had made them promises, though no one was sure what he would do when he no longer needed them. Yet, neither the Ministry nor the Order could counter Voldemort's promises. 

Remus Lupin was not an idiot; he was, after all, one of the brightest students in his year when he attended Hogwarts. The reason he was given this mission wasn't because he was a werewolf; it was because he was a suspect. Everyone knew that information was being leaked from the Order, but no matter how much his friends stood behind him he could see the questions in Albus Dumbledore's eyes every time they spoke lately. As the lights started to go out around the campsite, Remus moved away from the bushes and started walking back down the mountain. There would be no more spying tonight. He just hoped his friends were safe while he was away.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew was sorted into Gryffindor when he attended Hogwarts and had made friends with three dorm-mates, yet despite that, he never grew out of his quiet, pushover self. When he was approached by some Slytherins in his seventh year and was promised a position of power and safety if he would send information to them regarding Dumbledore's moves in the war, it hadn't taken much for Peter to quietly secure his future in what he felt was inevitably going to be led by the Dark Lord. 

And while he was making the most of his Gryffindor bravery--something none of his friends thought he even possessed--it was being appreciated in an underhanded way, through betrayal. The bonds created by four eleven-year-old boys were being broken with the easiest of taps on the weakest link. Even as he stood before the most feared wizard of the era, about to reveal Dumbledore's secret, no remorse could be found as he put the final nail into the coffin and cemented his devotion to the Dark Lord.

"M-m-my lord," Pettigrew stuttered, "I've returned with great news. The Potters have made me their Secret Keeper."

"Excellent, Wormtail. Dumbledore and his band of merry men are even dumber than I imagined," replied the hooded figure.

"Not only that, but I am in the clear. Everyone believes Black to be the Secret Keeper, and they suspect the werewolf to be the spy," Wormtail added mockingly.

"Ah yes, even dark creatures as innocent as young Lupin can't escape the prejudices of the wizarding world…" The Dark Lord remarked. "Not even from his _friends_."

The Dark Lord rose from his dark throne and stepped right up to his faithful servants, his Death Eaters, who cowered with his nearing presence. "Tonight, my friends, shall mark the turning point of this pitiful war Dumbledore has tried to prevent. After this night, there will be no one to stop the elimination of mudbloods from our world, and the name Lord Voldemort will be forever etched into history as the most powerful wizard to ever live!

"Now run off and deliver pain and torture to filthy muggles, my Death Eaters, while I take care of those pesky Potters once and for all," Voldemort announced as he turned his back to the assembled servants of darkness and laughed menacingly, not knowing what exactly fate had in store for him.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy was an arrogant man. With his wealth and family name he did what he wanted and it made him a very important person. The Ministry of Magic was corrupt; galleons put in the right pockets made bad things go away. To have a man like Lucius running that situation made it bad for the public. Of course, no one really knew what he really did, or what his agenda was all about. There was always suspicion, usually from the Chief Mugwump Albus Dumbledore and his brats, Potter and Black, but Lucius was, after all, a Slytherin, and he knew how to cover his tracks. 

One of Lucius's acquisitions happened to be his trophy wife, Narcissa. She was a Black, born to a noble pureblood family well-versed in Dark Arts, including some members who were involved with the Dark Lord. He was in his sixth year when Narcissa was sorted into Slytherin; by then he was already the ingrained leader of Slytherin house and had begun to get involved with Voldemort's movement behind the scenes, including the recruitment of Narcissa's older sister, Bellatrix Black. Using his family's power he secured a betrothal to Narcissa after her fourth year at Hogwarts, as was the Black family tradition.

Narcissa may have been a Black and she may have been a Slytherin, but she did not take after her fanatical older sister Bellatrix. She was rather more influenced by her sister Andromeda and their cousin Sirius. Though Narcissa was ambitious, cunning, and loyal to the Black family name, she also carried many attributes that Death Eaters didn't, including a lack of hatred for muggleborn wizards; with the help of her sister, Andromeda, she even befriended a muggleborn Ravenclaw named Lily Evans.

Finding favor with Walburga Black, Narcissa had been able to postpone the inevitable for a short time. The arrival of Andromeda's baby girl, Nymphadora, allowed Narcissa to offer her services taking care of her niece far away from the seedier parts of the Black family, in the safety of the Potter Estate. Unfortunately, she had to eventually obey the betrothal and move to Malfoy Manor with Lucius. The two had a son they named Draco and she had to be content under the façade of a snobbish pureblood.

'I wonder what Lucius would do if he found out I've been in contact with Ann and Lily,' Narcissa thought. A moment later, Lucius burst through the door of the mansion after one of his meetings. He was discussing something with another wizard in a hooded cloak, both so overjoyed that neither wizard noticed Narcissa lurking by the doorway of the parlor, intent on hearing what made him so happy—and fearing that it was nothing good at all.

"Get me some wine, Dobby," Lucius said, batting a tiny house elf towards the kitchen door. "It's a special occasion, after all. After the Dark Lord's victory, we will be too busy taking over to have time to celebrate. Perhaps it's an occasion to ravage some mudblood whores while those idiots at Hogwarts fail."

"Lucius, I'm all for fun and torture, but am I the only one worried about depending on something as huge as this to that bumbling fool Wormtail!" the hooded figure retorted loudly.

"Barty… You do not question the Dark Lord's ability. Those foolhardy Gryffindors handed the secret to Pettigrew; it's already over his head and in the hands of our Lord. Voldemort will rid the world of the Potters tonight!" Lucius answered hotly, oblivious to the sharp gasp that came from the doorway hiding his wife.

Narcissa was terrified. Her friends were in deep trouble and it was up to her to try to get help before it was too late. She had been mistreated and neglected by her Death Eater husband and was isolated from her friends and family, but finally, this terrible situation had proven valuable for the prospect of her friends' lives. It was a dangerous prospect flooing her sister with two Death Eaters in close proximity, but the possible consequences of not doing anything were even unthinkable.

"Once a Black, always a Black." Narcissa commented firmly as she headed off to the back storage room to use the fireplace that Lucius believed to be broken.

* * *

Sirius Black was a handsome 21-year-old pureblood wizard, heir to the Black Family fortune, and proud to be a recently appointed Auror of the Ministry of Magic. Sirius was betrothed to his favorite cousin Andromeda during the summer after his first year at Hogwarts as a Gryffindor. The two had eventually married, and now he was spending Halloween on the playroom floor of the Potter Estate, entertaining his 6-year-old daughter, Nymphadora, in his animagus form. Sirius had met James Potter during the train ride to Hogwarts and they'd been friends since. Together with Peter Pettigrew, they learned to become animagi to help out their friend Remus Lupin, who, they had eventually discovered was, in fact, a werewolf. Black genes being what they were, Sirius had a feeling about his baby when she was born during his fourth year, and just recently, his intuition was proven correct, as young Nymphadora was beginning to display slight but noticeable metamorphmagus powers for a witch as young as she. 

Having moved in with James after the birth of Nymphadora, the Blacks and Potters had become inseparable. They were family, a family that kept growing as the years went by. After graduating Hogwarts, Remus moved in with some persuasion, as did Lily since she was engaged to James and eventually married to him shortly after. Little Harry joined the mix two years later with Bonnie Aurora Black, Sirius and Andromeda's second girl, a year after that. The Potters had recently gone into hiding at their cottage in Godric's Hollow, so only the Blacks and the house-elves lived at the Potter Estate.

Andromeda, who was sitting on a nearby couch with a gently nursing four month old Bonnie, couldn't help but laugh out loud as their lime-green haired daughter grabbed Sirius's fur and rolled around on the floor with the cuddly black dog. This carefree moment was interrupted when a house-elf dressed in a pink pillowcase with the Potter family crest embroidered on the front popped into the room.

"Mistress Andromeda, excuse Binky, ma'am," the small green house-elf said politely, "but there is Mistress Narcissa in the fireplace and she sounds urgent."

"Cissy?" Andromeda remarked, looking incredulous at first, her face slowly dissolving into worry as she got up and handed a tired Bonnie to Binky. "Thank you, Binky. Please put Bonnie to sleep and then help Sirius with Dora."

"Ann," the now transformed Sirius said, "you'd better see what she wants. Cissy wouldn't risk a call if it wasn't important. Lucius better not have hurt her."

Andromeda quickly embraced her husband and started out the door and into the hallway towards the drawing room fireplace, while calling over her shoulder, "Sirius, get Dora to bed and join me as soon as you can."

"ANN, ARE YOU THERE?" Andromeda entered the dimly lit drawing room and approached the fire to see her younger sister's panicked face.

"Cissy, is everything ok?" Andromeda asked, growing more tense as the situation seemed to be even graver than she had originally thought.

"It's James and Lily! They're in danger--"

"Bloody hell, are they hurt?" Sirius interrupted having just entered the room and conversation.

"Not yet, or… I'm not sure," Narcissa replied uncertainly. "It might be too late." She paused as the Blacks winced at the thought. "All I know is that Lucius and Barty Crouch are celebrating in the other room and I overheard them saying that Voldemort was eliminating the Potters tonight."

"How could that even be…?" Sirius trailed off and slowly got up as an enraged look began to appear on his face. He grabbed his wand off the table and shot a patronus out of his wand and out of the room. Just before he left the room he turned back to kiss and embrace his wife who was still kneeling in front of her sister's head. "I just messaged Albus. It has to be Peter. He's the only one capable of revealing where they live. I just hope I'm not too late. I love you. Stay here with Nym and Bonnie. I'll get a message to you as soon as I can."

* * *

The village of Godric's Hollow was quiet and peaceful, until a loud crack rang in the air, bringing with it the most dangerous wizard in the world to this place of innocence. Two darkly-cloaked figures prowled down the dimly lit street and stopped in front of a seemingly empty lot. 

"Wormtail, this is the correct location, yes?" Voldemort turned just enough to see the cowering Pettigrew nod. "Well, you sniveling traitor, deliver the Potters to me!"

"Y-yes, Master," Wormtail stuttered. "The P-Potters live at 16 Gryffin Lane, Godric's Hollow."

Suddenly, on that previously empty lot, popped up a cozy two-story cottage with lights on in the sitting room, its inhabitants unaware of the danger that was about to be upon them.

* * *

Charles Evans was reclining in his son-in-law's cushy chair, reading by the fire, waiting to hear from the Potters. His wife, Mari, was upstairs in the nursery, tending to a fussy Harry. His reading was interrupted by a loud crack from outside. Knowing that Lily and James would use the floo and arrive through the fireplace, he figured it must be that shy boy Peter. Perhaps they had asked him to check up on them. As he looked out the window he saw a cloaked figure walking up the path, so Charles went to greet the young man. 

"Peter, is that you?" Charles greeted the cloaked figure. "Did Lily and James ask you to stop by-?" He stopped suddenly as the cloaked figure stepped into the light, revealing a sinister face.

"Who are you?" Charles demanded, slowly backing towards the door.

"Filthy muggle, I'm the end of the road," Voldemort spat, an evil glint shining in his eye as he stalked the older man.

Charles left subtleness behind and ran through the doorway and attempted to barricade the front door. "MARIGOLD! IT'S HIM! TAKE HARRY AND RUN! I'LL HOLD--"

Charles was interrupted as the front door exploded in front of him, banishing him at an alarming speed through the sitting room and into the staircase, his body sprawled along the steps. Voldemort stepped into the cottage and surveyed the damage of his blasting curse. He sneered at the fallen muggle and went to step over him towards the sounds of a crying baby when he felt a tug on his boot.

"You'll have to go through me, you bastard." A bloody Charles Evans used the piece of the side table he'd landed on earlier as a weapon, spiking the scrap of wood into the calf of the intruder.

Voldemort yelped in surprise at the stubborn muggle's actions, grimacing in pain at the wood sticking into his leg. Magic began to roll visibly off his body as his anger built up. He stabbed his wand at the muggle on the floor. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" As the green light enveloped the muggle, Charles Evans was no more.

* * *

Marigold had been in her grandson's nursery for the last half hour, trying to sooth the incredibly fussy Harry, when her husband's shouts sent the coldest chills through her body. As calmly as one could, Mari carried Harry over to his bassinet. Then she placed a bear in Harry's crib, covering it with a blanket and then slowly, she and her grandson made their way to Lily's bedroom where Mari closed and locked the door behind them. She hid in the bedroom cupboard, tears streaming down her cheeks. She held Harry protectively in her arms, trying to quiet his cries all while wishing for this nightmare to not be real. 

It steadily became real as the bedroom door crashed open to reveal an enraged and bloody intruder, better known throughout the wizarding world as Lord Voldemort.

"Another silly muggle," Voldemort remarked. "I must say, this is far easier than I imagined. Now step away, woman! The death of the light is at hand, and it starts with that boy!"

"N-never. You won't get away with this. Lily and James will save Harry," Marigold retorted.

"The Potters were said to be impossible to find, yet here I stand. No one can stop Lord Voldemort! Avada Kedavra!" Green light from Voldemort's wand enveloped Marigold Evans and her body fell to the floor, eyes wide but empty. Little Harry climbed onto his grandmother's body, not realizing the direness of the situation, being barely a year old.

"So this is young Harry. I must say, for the hero of the wizarding world, you're quite useless. Now die, half-blood! Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort launched the killing curse once again, this time towards young Harry Potter crying in the arms of his dead grandmother. As the curse encompassed the baby, it did not steal the light from his eyes or leave him dead to the world; instead, it dissolved into a golden light that covered the baby boy and his dead grandmother.

The sinister smirk on the Dark Lord's face quickly faded to absolute horror, as the glowing golden light surrounding the child and his fallen grandmother gradually grew into a blinding light. It filled the room, creating a magical shockwave that shook the small cottage to its roots. Windows shattered, furniture exploded, walls cracked and crumbled and the evil wizard known as Voldemort knew no more.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was a hero of the wizarding world, and the only wizard the Dark Lord Voldemort had ever feared. This night, he was sitting quietly at his desk at Hogwarts going over some reports he'd received about village attacks. His students and staff were in their rooms recovering from another hectic Halloween feast. 

Albus was sucking on a lemon drop when he noticed an incandescent light streaking towards his office from the grounds. As the light entered his office, he discerned the shape to be a patronus from young Sirius Black. Albus readily accepted it and received the urgent message. After hearing the message, the grim-faced Headmaster placed a floo-network call to his Deputy.

"Minerva," Albus greeted the tartan-clad, bespectacled woman who answered his call. "I'm off to Godric's Hollow; there's been a breach in security for the Potters. Alert Madam Pomfrey. Let us pray it's not too late."

"Of course, Albus… Do be careful," the humbled Minerva McGonagall replied right before Albus turned from the fire and headed out of the castle to apparate away.


	2. Aftermath

**Chapter Two - Aftermath**

James and Lily Potter drove down a country road toward their cottage in Godric's Hollow after dropping off the obnoxious Dursleys at their hotel. He had noticed his wife's distracted look throughout the night since they left the cottage, but despite his reassurances nothing seemed to work.

"Lily, are you still worrying about your parents and Harry?" asked James. "I don't think we could've dropped off your sister and her lout of a husband any quicker at their hotel. I reckon tonight's incident has pretty much eliminated thoughts of any more get-togethers with them I hope. I don't know how your parents can stand them."

"You can't help who you love, James. Hell, I know that first hand," Lily replied wryly.

"Ouch. Hit me where it hurts, Lily Flower. I'll have you know it was my irresistible Potter charm that won you over," bragged James.

Lily reached over and kissed his cheek. "You irresistible lug, let's get back to..." She fainted and fell back on the passenger seat.

"Lily!" James quickly steered the car to the side of the road and stopped to unbuckle his wife and lay her down in the back seat.

Lily began to glow with a faint golden light. After a few minutes, the glow subsided and her eyelids fluttered open. She focused her eyes on James as he caressed her cheek.

"Sweetie, are you ok? Some odd glow…" James trailed off. He noticed a glimmer of recognition in Lily's eyes and a growing look of horror that was on her face.

"James! It's Harry! We have to get back to the cottage! Something bad has happened," Lily quickly announced, pushing her husband out of the car.

Not one to take such words lightly, especially after all the bad feelings Lily'd had that evening, James grabbed his wife in his arms and apparated to the cottage, leaving the muggle rental car behind on the side of the road.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew was someone who knew how to fade into the background. He'd done it most of his life. Even though James and Sirius included him, he always seemed to be the least important of the Marauders. Tonight he said goodbye to his persona as a Gryffindor; he could no longer live a lie after betraying his friends. His loyalty to the Dark Lord was now cemented. So when his Master told him to wait while he disposed of the Potters, he knew what he had to do. He hid in the bushes near the garden where Lily loved to work since the young family had gone into hiding.

Only he could hear the yelling and fighting coming from inside the cottage, since only he knew it existed. If not for the solemn occasion, Wormtail might've found it funny that all these muggles kept passing by, oblivious to the pain and torment inside. Suddenly he heard leaves crunching behind him and turned around. He found himself face to face with an enraged Sirius Black, no less than ten feet away.

"PETER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Sirius roared as he continued towards Wormtail, his wand aimed at his former friend.

"It's too late, Sirius. The Dark Lord is inside already. You lose." Wormtail mocked, removing his wand and preparing to defend himself. "No one can defeat—"

A huge blast went off inside the cottage, throwing both wizards several yards across the lawn. Wormtail slammed into the shed and Sirius into some nearby bushes.

Sirius shook the cobwebs from his head. The explosion had taken his attention from his traitorous friend. His family inside the cottage was more important. Sirius quickly rose up and ran through the entrance of the cottage, stopping at the entranceway for a moment to send a backwards glance to the ruined shed; Wormtail had escaped.

Sirius passed through the rooms and made his way to a pile of debris by the staircase, where he spotted a body. As he got closer, he recognized it as Charles Evans, Lily's father, his eyes wide and empty. Sirius shook his head in remorse and moved past the body and up the staircase, fearing what he'd find once he got up there.

The silence did nothing to alleviate his fear as he passed the shattered door of the master bedroom, which looked as though a hurricane had hit it. Sirius stepped up to the partially open wardrobe. He saw another body lying inside and knew instantly that this was Marigold, Lily's mother. His shoulders shook with grief as he collapsed on the floor, his eyes focused on the bundle of blankets in Mari's arms--Harry. He reached out to touch the odd cut on his godson's forehead. Suddenly, a piercing wail startled Sirius, and he fell to the floor on his back.

Sirius looked at the baby in disbelief, lifting him from Mari's slack arms. Harry was in obvious discomfort and continued wailing, even as Sirius embraced him. Tears of relief streamed down the wizard's face. "Thank Merlin you're alright, Harry. I love you," Sirius said happily.

Cracks from outside alerted Sirius to visitors arriving. He stepped to the broken windowsill and looked outside to see James and Lily rushing up the path towards the cottage. Sirius exhaled deeply; he hadn't realized he was holding his breath. He started to make his way out of the demolished bedroom, little Harry snuggled safely into his chest. He thought of his own daughters and wife, safe at the Potter Estate. He dreaded having to inform them of the night's events.

Downstairs, Albus Dumbledore was gently moving Charles Evans's body from the staircase to a sheet as Sirius made his way down the steps. James and Lily burst through the front door, both of them out of breath. Lily gasped when she saw Harry in Sirius's arms. She rushed towards them, enveloping Sirius in a hug and then taking Harry into her arms.

"Oh, my baby Harry," Lily said softly, petting her baby's hair and clutching him to her chest. "I couldn't lose my baby."

James was relieved to see Harry alive and in Lily's arms. He noticed that Albus had covered Charles in a sheet and was headed upstairs, presumably to check on Marigold. He knew Lily hadn't seen her father on the floor. James quickly moved to embrace his wife and son, shielding the body from her view.

He looked at Sirius, unsure how to ask about his mother-in-law. He had come to love Lily's parents since his own parents had passed away during his sixth year at Hogwarts. Once Harry was born, Charles and Marigold had often visited the Potter Estate or invited James and Lily to visit them in their muggle home. James knew they enjoyed the time they spent with their grandson, and he was happy to share Harry with them. "Is Marigold…?" he trailed off.

"No, but I think she saved his life," Sirius answered solemnly. "I found Harry in her arms. He was quiet at first and I thought for a second…" He paused. "But then, wham! Little Harry started wailing." Sirius smiled grimly towards the Potters.

"As much as I love Marigold, I don't understand how a muggle could stop Voldemort from harming Harry," James pondered aloud, his hand stroking Lily's arm while she snuggled into his chest.

"Love," Lily said offhandedly with a faraway look, before focusing her eyes on the sleeping Harry in her arms. She caressed his cheek. "Her love, _our_ love was what saved Harry. That was what I felt in the car, James," Lily pointed out. "Mum and Harry called on me since I am the connection to the both of them, and our love protected Harry."

"How can that-?" James was interrupted before he could ask his question by Dumbledore who had just returned from upstairs and had placed Marigold's body beside her husband while the trio were talking.

"It's true, James," Dumbledore said, entering the conversation. "It's very old magic. I'm not surprised, considering Lily's academic achievements, that she would put some protections on your son beyond the Fidelius charm we used. Marigold did what she could, embracing your son in her arms. She unknowingly activated the magic once the curse was sent. Her sacrifice and Lily's extensive preparation made Harry's presence with us possible. He's here and Voldemort is not."

"Voldemort's gone?" A quiet Sirius asked suddenly, blood draining from his face at the realization that he had forgotten all about the Dark Lord in his search for Harry.

"Yes… but let's leave that for Hogwarts," Albus answered, cutting off the trio from asking anymore questions until they got to a safe location. "I'll ask Minerva to move Charles and Marigold to a private location so you can make arrangements later," he continued as he directed the family to the fireplace. "Now, let us head to the hospital wing and get young Harry checked out before we head to my office. Also, perhaps Sirius can inform Andromeda of what happened." Sirius looked sheepish. He had forgotten about his promise to floo his wife, distracted with all that had happened since he arrived. The group quickly left the broken cottage. And no one noticed a brown rat pick up an oddly-formed stick from the backyard and scurry down the street out of sight.

* * *

Andromeda Black was known for her patience. After all, she grew up with an older sister and a younger sister. She also had a randy prankster of a husband, a metamorphmagus daughter and a very young baby. But after hearing that her extended family was in danger and seeing her husband run off into that danger, she was on edge. Luckily, Sirius and Binky had put the children to bed. Unfortunately, Binky and Twinkle, the other Potter house-elf, had come to check on her after looking over the rest of the estate, and even they could not keep her from worrying.

It seemed like forever since Sirius had gone, though it was more like an hour or two. But Andromeda was immensely relieved when the floo flared up and her husband's head popped into view.

"Sirius! Thank Merlin, I was afraid something might've happened to you if Albus hadn't gotten your message on time." Andromeda exclaimed.

"Ann, calm down, love. I'm fine. James, Lily and Harry are all doing well, and Poppy is examining them now," Sirius replied softly, eyes shining with emotions.

"That's a miracle!" Andromeda let out a sigh of relief. "I can't believe that the Death Eaters would mess up like that with Peter's insider information."

"Well… not everyone came out unscathed," Sirius said vaguely, a grim look appearing on his features. "James and Lily weren't home. That lout husband of Petunia's got a batch of sleeping draught in his drink and they took them to St. Mungo's to get him fixed up. They weren't there when Peter let Voldemort in… Charles and Marigold were."

Andromeda let out a horrified gasp as she realized that Lily's parents had been visiting for the last month and how under-matched they would've been against Voldemort. "They're gone, aren't they?"

"They didn't make it," Sirius answered. "But their struggles made it possible for Harry to still be with us." At Andromeda's puzzled look he continued, "Lily had prepared some old magic protections around Harry, and Marigold's sacrifice, along with their love, helped Harry survive the killing curse with just a mark."

Andromeda gaped in horror at the thought of Harry possibly not being around without this miracle. "Oh, poor Lily. How is she handling this?" she asked thinking of the trauma her friend was going through.

"I don't think it's hit her yet. She, like James, is just glad to still have Harry. I think you should head over here to Hogwarts, though. She could use your support," Sirius said, his eyes focusing on his beautiful wife.

"What about Dora and Bonnie?" asked Andromeda worriedly. "I don't like the idea of leaving them with just Binky and Twinkle especially with all that's gone on tonight."

"You're right, of course," agreed Sirius. After thinking for a few minutes, he came up with an idea. "I know just the thing, Ann. Floo Molly Weasley over at the Burrow. You know, Fabian and Gideon's sister? She has a whole brood of Weasleys, so I'm sure she'd be willing to watch ours for a few hours. Not to mention I'm sure she'd be glad to hear we're okay," he pointed out.

"You're absolutely brilliant sometimes, Sirius," Andromeda complimented him. "They're loyal to Dumbledore and they have kids around the ages of ours so it'll be a perfect situation. I'll help Binky with the girls and go with them to the Burrow and explain things before heading over to Hogwarts, sweetie. Ask Lily to send over Harry if he's fine too, and then we'll pick them back up in the morning."

As soon as Sirius said goodbye and his head disappeared from the fires, Andromeda quickly told Binky and Twinkle to floo Molly and let her know that she and the girls were dropping by. Then she was off towards the bedrooms on the second floor to wake up her daughters for their little trip.

* * *

"I've asked Alastor to stop by the cottage and move your parents, Lily." Albus said, officially starting the impromptu meeting of some members of the Order of the Phoenix, a group focused on the fight against Voldemort.

"Thank you, Albus. Lily and I appreciate your help in these matters. It's definitely been a rough day," James replied, leaning back into his chair.

"My condolences for your losses. They were great people to have raised a daughter like you, Lily. They'll be remembered always for their contribution to Voldemort's demise." Albus said solemnly. Minerva McGonagall leaned over and patted Lily's arm, her eyes full of compassion for their loss.

"I'm sure they're happy in knowing that they saved Harry's life. He has his whole life ahead of him, and it's despicable what Voldemort tried to do. For someone so cynical, to have faith in prophecies…" Lily trailed off, a disgruntled look on her face.

"Unfortunately for us, that scar Harry received may very well be the 'mark' the prophecy said the Chosen One would get from the Dark Lord. If Voldemort truly isn't gone, I'm afraid this will just increase his determination. Let us pray this is not the case."

"I was distracted, Albus…but I didn't see a sign of Voldemort outside of that traitor, Peter. Is he gone?" Sirius questioned the headmaster.

"From my brief inspection, I haven't found a trace of Voldemort, and if he survived that curse backlash, he would be nothing more than a wisp of his former self. I'm confident that we've heard the last of him for awhile, if not forever," Albus continued in a serious tone to those in his office.

"With _him_ gone, I imagine all the Death Eater scum will scatter, making the Ministry's job tougher, but also lessen the probability of mass attacks," Lily rationalized, her mind only focusing on the now and not on the deaths of her parents or what Harry's survival meant in the long scope of things.

"What about Peter!" Sirius demanded of Albus. "He's one of them…and probably has been for quite awhile. He must pay for Charles and Marigold's deaths." He pounded on the Headmaster's oak desk.

Minerva gasped at his outburst. "Little Peter did this?" she asked incredulously. Sirius nodded.

"A manhunt for Mr. Pettigrew will be issued shortly, Sirius," Albus reassured the agitated wizard. "He will have no where to hide, once his loyalty is revealed into the media."

"I think we'll leave the rest of the planning to you, Albus. I think we've done all we can. My family just wants to recover," James said, standing up with Lily, intending to leave the office.

"Ah, James, I've also taken the initiative to ask some of the house-elves here at Hogwarts to go to the cottage and start packing your things. I imagine you wouldn't be staying there even if it was safe, which it isn't now that the security has been breached… I could prepare guest rooms for you while we discuss your family's housing," Albus added, causing the Potters and Black's to stop their departure. Sirius turned back to answer the professor.

"No offense, Albus, but there's no discussion needed," Sirius countered. "We were talking about traveling before James and Lily had to go into hiding with that prophecy nonsense. After everything that's happened tonight, I think that's exactly what we need, to get away from everything. Just us, the kids and Remus."

"We tried your way, and it got us exposed eventually. I think we'll just rely on ourselves," James contributed, bringing Lily closer in his embrace. "It's time for family. We'll leave the clean-up of the wizarding world in your good hands, Albus. Could you let Remus know we'd appreciate his company?" He turned towards his former Transfiguration teacher. "Minerva, we'll owl you. We could never forget you."

And with that, the Potters and Blacks left the Headmaster's office. Albus Dumbledore was very disconcerted. He realized now that while Peter, their friend, had betrayed them, it was his protections that weren't secure enough. And that was reason enough for the Potters to be more private in their decisions.

* * *

Returning to the Potter Estate, the two couples tried valiantly to get some rest, but after a few hours of tossing and turning proved that there would be no sleep for them that night. They decided to freshen up and pick up the kids from the Burrow. The exhausted group apparated into the Weasley's garden just as the morning sun peeked over the trees overlooking the Burrow. They walked up to the kitchen door.

A beaming Molly Weasley opened up the door and quickly grabbed James and Lily into a warm embrace.

"Oh, you two are in one piece, aren't you?" Molly asked quickly. "When Ann brought the girls and Harry, she said you were okay but it's just not the same until you can see it for yourself, you know." She smiled at Lily and pinched James's cheek before moving to embrace Sirius and Andromeda. "Harry was an angel and the girls were lovely. Nymphadora is playing with Bill and Charlie in the sitting room. Harry's with Ron in the playpen, and of course," Molly pointed at the dining room table where two bassinets sat. "Ginny and Bonnie are enjoying spending time with me in the kitchen."

Lily and Andromeda quickly joined Molly by the bassinets. The baby girls blinked up at them in wonder. Sirius and James quietly retired to see what the other kids were up to.

"Ginny looks lovely, Molly. She's what, two months old?" Lily asked, her finger caressing the youngest Weasley's rosy cheek.

"She'll be three months in a little over a week, dear," Molly answered proudly, her gaze on her daughter. "She was such a welcome surprise after all these boys. To have another girl in the house was something I always wanted."

Andromeda giggled. "Sirius has been wanting a boy and he's gotten two girls. He loves them to death, but I know in his heart he wants a little prankster to mold like James has."

"Just wait, Ann. Nymphadora already seems to be getting up to mischief like her father. With Bonnie near Harry's age, I'm sure she'll be up to no good shortly as well," Lily said, letting out a laugh.

"Our kids get along so well, I just know they'll be friends," Molly declared confidently.

"I'm sure they will, Molly, although we might not be around much for awhile," Andromeda continued at Molly's questioning glance. "With the attack last night, and _him_ gone, we've decided to get away and travel the world."

"We'll make sure to keep in touch, and we're only traveling until Nym gets her letter," Lily added, seeing the light flicker in Molly's eyes. "That's less than five years from now. I'm sure you'll have your hands full with your brood during that time. We'll always stay friends. I'm confident of that."

"Now though, I think we should pick up our husbands and leave before they give your kids any ideas," Andromeda said, holding Bonnie in her bassinet while they walked towards the sitting room.

The three women entered the sitting room to greet chaos--kids jumping around in different colors, little Harry and Ron floating around the room in bubbles, and of course, James and Sirius laughing it up with two little three-year-old twins on their lap.

All three women shouted at their respective troublemakers.

"SIRIUS!"

"JAMES!"

"FRED AND GEORGE!"

The Marauders had the decency to look ashamed, and after a few stern looks and sharp retorts, the wizards put the room back together.

After several pictures and promises to stay in touch, the Potters and Blacks made sure to hug Molly and thank her before they left for watching their kids at the last minute.

"I'm sorry you missed Arthur. He wanted to say hello," Molly said as they were leaving. "With You-Know-Who gone, the Ministry is in quite the tizzy. He just had to go in. Do you know where you will be going?"

"No, we'll be seeing a bit of everything. I don't like to have everything planned," James replied, winking at her. "I'm sure we'll see you and Arthur soon, Molly. Take care."

And with that, the Potters and Blacks apparated away to the Potter Estate to prepare for the next phase of their life: travel.


	3. Consequences

Author's Note: Just as a warning, there is an abuse scene in the last half of the chapter.

**Chapter Three - Consequences**

The Potters and Blacks kept to their plans and after a week of packing their things, they and Remus Lupin, the other resident of the Potter Estate and their best friend, left for their extended traveling trip. One thing that became evident once they were out on the road, something they should've expected, was the fame and popularity that was brewing up for their son after his defeat of the Dark Lord.

It didn't hit them until weeks after they had left on their trip and were staying in Rome, Italy. They had just spent the day exploring the Pantheon amongst the muggles. It had been a challenge in itself, with random muggles mysteriously having their hair turn odd, vibrant colors or their clothes shifting, making them look like cross dressers. All of these victims had the poor luck of having just passed into the line of sight of Sirius Black and James Potter.

Needing to get ready for the next leg of their journey--a few months in Spain--the girls sent the Marauders off to the local magical marketplace to buy supplies. A few hours later, they decided to get a drink at the café that was across the street from the hotel where they'd been staying.

"Now this is a vacation," Andromeda said, relaxing back into her chair. "I'm glad we were able to talk the boys into taking Dora with them. She's just a bundle of energy, and if she stayed here helping with the babies I doubt she'd be easy to get to bed tonight."

"As much as I love this place, I can't wait until we move on to Madrid." Lily sighed, lowering her gaze to the carriage between them. The two babies, seventeen-month-old Harry and six-month-old Bonnie, were sleeping soundly. "They're still too young to appreciate where we are, and two months in one city can't be much fun for Nym."

"Nonsense, Lily," Andromeda replied, waving her hand dismissingly. "With her dad, James and even Remus being around her, she's having the time of her life. She missed that the most when you guys had to go into hiding and Dumbledore sent Remus on that ridiculous mission."

"It was beautiful here during Christmas, wasn't it?" Lily reminisced, changing the topic from the war they'd just been through.

Andromeda sighed, not at all oblivious to Lily's avoidance. "And we have the pictures to prove it!" She waved her hand idly in the direction of Lily's bag sitting on the table. "I'm so glad James convinced you to get that camera before we left Diagon Alley. Sirius left ours behind. I don't know how you've lived so long in this world, content with just a muggle camera. It's just not the same."

"So many memories. I can't wait until Harry and Bonnie are old enough to comprehend them," Lily gushed. "And weren't those albums Narcissa sent simply adorable? I hope she got our presents."

"I'm sure she did. When I was wondering how we were going to get them to her since we've been traveling, I talked to Sirius's mum and she lent me Kreacher. He knows how to handle himself in dark houses; he's been to Malfoy Manor a few times, sneaking packages to Cissy. Walburga's grown a soft spot for my sister and me since we're so close to Sirius. She wanted to help out my sister during the betrothal proceedings but there was nothing she could do. Malfoy had plenty of money and Regulus was too young and twisted to help out."

"She's tough, Ann. It might not be the dream situation but I'm sure she'll make do as long as we stay strong and support her," Lily said confidently.

"I agree, but with her loneliness can be extremely tough to handle, the way Lucius keeps his heir apart from his mother. I wish we could take her away from that mess." Andromeda replied, tears coming to her eyes.

"We will. Someday, Ann. We will." Lily reached over and patted Andromeda's arm. She looked at the setting sun and a new subject came to her mind. "Um Ann, why aren't the boys back yet? It's nearly dark and it shouldn't have taken this long." A hint of panic crept into her voice.

"You're right. Even those three prats couldn't get themselves lost this close to the hotel. They better not be doing anything stupid with Dora there." Andromeda grimaced at the images coming into her head.

"No, Remus wouldn't let them do anything with Nym around," Lily answered, her gaze moving towards a group of people running down the street a few blocks away. "Is that--?"

"LILY! ANN! GO INSIDE!" roared the voice of the lead runner. The girls were quick into action, flicking their wands this way and that, packing their bags and taking the children with them across the street and back to the safety of their hotel rooms.

From their windows a few stories up, the women could see the pack nearing the hotel, and the faces of the lead runners came into focus. It was James, Remus and Sirius—with little Nymphadora on his shoulders. And they weren't leading the group, they were being chased. James quickly whipped out his wand and a torrid stream of water splashed between the Marauders and their pursuers. Sirius contributed a few stabs of his wand causing the water to rise up in waves preventing the crowd from getting through. Remus took the opportunity to disillusion himself and the others so they could escape.

A few minutes later the exhausted group joined up in their hotel room. Sirius collapsed onto one of the beds with an exhausted Nymphadora still in his arms. Remus trudged into the bathroom while James joined Lily and Andromeda by the window.

Lily quickly rounded on him. "Just what exactly was that, James? Those didn't look like muggles. What did you three do?"

Before James could open his mouth, Andromeda continued the impromptu interrogation. "We just asked you to get supplies for us to use until we reached Spain. How could that go wrong?"

"Look," James started, anxiously running his hand through his hair, "it's not our fault." At the girls' looks of indignation, he quickly elaborated. "We went into the marketplace, to get the supplies." He pointed over at the bags Remus had thrown onto one of the beds. "I told Sirius to grab some newspapers so we could catch up on what's been happening when he yelled my name." James stopped, a serious look growing on his face. "It's Harry. He's all over the papers, being hailed as the 'Boy-Who-Lived'."

Remus, rejoining the group, continued where James left off. "It was unbelievable. We didn't notice it until it was almost too late. People overheard Sirius calling James over and they put two and two together. Soon enough, we were overrun with fanatics--wizards and witches trying to thank us, get us to sign things, and ask us where Harry is. We kept trying to get away without using magic in the open, but it soon became the only option."

"He's a bloody icon, and he can barely talk!" Sirius exclaimed from his spot on the bed. "I don't think we have to look hard to guess who leaked what happened on Halloween to the press."

"Dumbledore," Lily spat, scowling at the thought of their former headmaster putting Harry in the spotlight.

"I don't think it's that bad," Remus spoke up, trying to ignore the intense glares from the two witches. "Look, he had to say something. I mean a dark lord doesn't just disappear. Despite his faults, Albus isn't one to take credit for something he didn't do, not to mention that considering his age, he just can't be the sole savior for the wizarding world anymore. He won't be around forever."

"And at least he left your parents out of the explanation, Lily," James reasoned.

"It wouldn't have made sense to include them, James. Two muggles being partly responsible for the demise of Voldemort? Imagine how that would've taken away from the credibility of the story. Fear of his whereabouts would be rampant right now," Sirius interjected, his hand lazily brushing his sleeping daughter's blue hair.

"Well, what do we do?" James asked the group. "I'm not talking about this trip, because we'll be fine, now that we know what's going on and can take precautions. But what about Harry? He's going to have so much on his shoulders if this fame holds up. We'll have to appease the public somehow if we're going to give Harry and the girls a normal childhood and not have to seclude them for their safety."

As if his ears were burning, Harry woke up and began to cry, waking up the dozing Bonnie who was lying right next to him. Lily and Andromeda quickly picked up their fussy children and spent a few minutes rocking them. Once the kids were calm enough to be put back down, Lily turned to the group, an idea in her mind.

"I think I might have a way for us to take advantage of this opportunity we've been given." Lily took a deep breath, taking the time to make sure she had the attention of everyone, especially that of James and Sirius. "Now, we're well off. With James's inheritance and Sirius having the support of his mum, we have plenty of financial support at our disposal to do what we want and live comfortably. If we pool our resources, we could form a company to support family ventures and deal with public demand."

"Talk about ambitious," remarked Remus, his brow crinkled in thought. "It could work. That way, we'd be able to control what gets printed about Harry and how he's portrayed to the public. Plus, we could get other businesses involved so we could support ourselves and continue to increase what we already have."

"We'll have to start pounding out the details and begin setting it up while we're in Rome. We can't have the press saying what they will about Harry. It's for our future," James said, his gaze on the sleeping children on the bed.

"What should we call it? After the Marauders?" Sirius questioned aloud.

"As fun as that would be, Padfoot, I think that we should stick to your surnames. Both you and James come from old families and it'll be important to carry that power with us." Remus countered.

"So Potter Black?" James looked at Sirius for confirmation.

"Black Potter?" Sirius said with a smirk, shaking his hand.

"Potter Black," Andromeda chimed in, putting her hand on top of theirs. "After all, this is because of Harry."

"Yes, and it's for the girls too. Potter Black," Lily added, smiling, placing her hand on top of Andromeda's.

"You too, Moony. Get in here, you're family," James said, pulling Remus with his free hand into the group circle. "To Potter Black, Incorporated!" The whole group said softly trying not to wake the children, taking a big step for their future.

* * *

A few months later, at the dark and gloomy Malfoy Manor, Narcissa Malfoy smiled to herself. She'd just had a floo conversation with Andromeda and little Harry, who James had thrust into the floo so Narcissa could coo over him. Just a few months shy of two years old, little Harry was looking more and more like his dad apart from those lovely green eyes of Lily's. 

Narcissa loved the opportunities she had to see the children--the energetic Nymphadora, such a prankster, Harry, and Bonnie, who was cute as a button from the pictures she had seen. Caught up in her thoughts, Narcissa didn't notice Lucius enter the study, nor did she see the sneer on his face.

"Narcissa, darling," Lucius said with contempt. "Did you not think I would notice? If not for my previous commitments, I would've noticed your odd behavior before now."

Narcissa jumped in surprise, then winced at not noticing her husband's intrusion sooner. Her beautiful face froze. "What are you talking about this time, Lucius? Ministry buffoons not rolling over for you anymore? Decided to take out your frustrations on your wife?" she retorted.

"Wife… Yes, you are my wife, aren't you? Mother of my heir, lady on my arm, caring…and _loyal_," Lucius said, idly running his fingers along the arm of Narcissa's chair. "Loyalty is required to be on the arm of a Malfoy, Narcissa, and I _know_ you haven't been loyal to me or my Lord."

"Lucius, you are being ridiculous. I'm loyal to my _family_," Narcissa sneered back at the agitated wizard. Her mind was racing, trying to think of any way that Lucius might've seen her communicate with her true family.

Lucius moved his hands and gripped Narcissa's arms, pinning them to the chair. "Yes, you are loyal to _your_ family… But as you say, 'once a Black, always a Black,' eh?" he sneered, pulling his hand back and slapping Narcissa across the face. She fell back against her chair, her arms flying above her head.

Narcissa's eyes grew wide with fear; she knew well how vicious a Death Eater Lucius was from his boastings when they were entertaining guests. Lucius reached over and ripped open Narcissa's bodice, revealing her bare chest. She shuddered involuntarily from the cold breath on her neck as Lucius continued his assault, grabbing her breasts roughly while his body pinned her to the chair.

"A witch, yet no better than a mudblood whore," Lucius commented, grabbing Narcissa's shoulders and throwing her roughly to the ground.She grunted as she collided with the cold floor, knocking the breath out of her. Narcissa crawled towards the door but Lucius stopped her progress with a swift kick to her stomach, sending her into the wall.

"I've had you watched for the last few months, _Black_," Lucius spat her family name. "You talked to someone on Halloween night. Everyone of importance was busy, so I came to the conclusion that you helped warn the Potters that night. Do you deny it?" Lucius shouted, grabbing a hand full of Narcissa's hair, pulling her slightly bruised and bloody face towards him.

Narcissa took her last remaining strength to look defiantly at Lucius and spit in his face, causing the wizard to drop her hard to the floor as he recoiled. Enraged, Lucius whipped out his wand. "I hate to break it to you, Narcissa but I'm afraid we've reached an impasse with this marriage. It's a shame, that Black fortune is wasted on you blood traitors." Lucius reverted to his cold, indifferent mask and stabbed his wand at Narcissa. "CRUCIO!"

After being held under the torture curse for a few minutes, Narcissa's screams soon died out. Lucius was tired of the scene and left the room.

"Clean up that mess!" he ordered the nearest house-elf. Narcissa looked around fearfully as she heard soft footsteps nearing her. She calmed a bit when she recognized the compassionate eyes of her favorite Malfoy house-elf, Dobby, looking down at her sadly.

"Don't worry Mistr-Miss," Dobby stuttered, struggling with the sudden disseverment of the Malfoy marriage. "Master said to clean up this mess, and Dobby shall!" With a gleam in his eye, Dobby smiled at Narcissa, gently grasping her wrist and with a snap of his fingers they were in her bedroom.

Dobby quickly set forth completing tasks for Narcissa. He gently left her on her bed, and ran the bath for her. Dobby quickly emptied her wardrobe into bags, shrinking them as they filled. Once the bath was ready, the house-elf levitated Narcissa to it, stripping her of her bloody and torn up dress before putting her in to soothe her wounds.

Once he finished all the packing, Narcissa limped out of the bathroom, a towel hastily wrapped around her. Dobby helped her put on a loose fitting dress robe that would not pressure her injuries.

"Is Miss sure Dobby does not heal her fully?" Dobby asked worriedly, his hands wringing his ears.

"Nonsense, Dobby." Narcissa paused to take a breath. "Walburga needs to see what happened. She'll help me heal afterwards." Narcissa looked into Dobby's large eyes. "I want to say thank you, Dobby. You've risked a lot and I may never be able to repay you."

"Oh Miss is so kind," Dobby cried softly, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "Dobby will punish himself for disobeying Master, but Dobby would do it every time for you. Now let Dobby take Miss to the kitchens." Snapping his fingers, Dobby took Narcissa and her luggage into the dark kitchen of Malfoy Manor. Dobby led Narcissa over to the corner of the room, the eyes of the other house-elves following their progress from the shadows.

"This spot be ward-free, Miss!" Dobby said happily. "This is how Kreacher be coming here to give you things from his mistress. Now hold on, it'll be a tight squeeze." With a smirk on the house-elf's face, Dobby grabbed Narcissa and they popped out of the Malfoy kitchen, only to reappear in another dark room.

As Narcissa tried to perceive where they were, Dobby hustled around to turn on the lights. Dimly lit, she could plainly recognize the room now as a kitchen, her aunt's kitchen, she guessed.

"You be in Grimmauld Place now, Miss. Dobby will be missing you." The now crying house-elf grabbed Narcissa around her legs in a hug.

Narcissa smiled as best she could painlessly, and gently patted the house-elf on its back. "Thank you, Dobby. I will miss you too." And with that, Dobby pulled away and smiled, snapping his fingers and disappearing from the room.

Narcissa slowly made her way up the staircase, pausing for breath once she had reached the entrance hall, only to hear a gasp from behind her.

"Narcissa, darling, is that you?" A voice asked from behind her. She recognized it immediately, turning to face her aunt. Walburga's face grew pale and worried as she gazed at Narcissa, taking in her battered appearance.

"Hello, Aunt Walburga. I do hope you'll excuse me from hugging you. I've seen better nights," Narcissa quipped, her voice sounding hoarse.

"Oh goodness, dear, it was Lucius, wasn't it?" Walburga questioned, guiding Narcissa up the staircase. "I knew he was bad news from the moment he approached your parents about your betrothal. I just wish I had done something to stop it before it happened," she commented quietly, caressing Narcissa's arm.

"KREACHER!" Walburga shouted and an older, grumpy looking house-elf appeared before the two women. "Kreacher, please prepare the guest room next to mine for Narcissa. Bring her bags, and the medical supplies; she's going to need to heal before resting."

"Yes, Mistress." Kreacher bowed and quickly popped out of their view.

Once they reached the bedroom, Kreacher was waiting for them. Walburga and the house-elf guided Narcissa straight to bed. As Narcissa tried to explain the situation, her aunt quickly shushed her.

"Nonsense, Narcissa, you're injured. Healing you is the important thing right now; you can tell me what happened tomorrow. Now quit being fussy, so I can heal you and you can get some rest."


	4. Birthdays

**Chapter Four - Birthdays**

A few months later, it was May. The Marauders and their families were finishing up their stay in a small Muggle town in Morocco. The oldest child in their group had her birthday fast approaching.

The adults watched the sunset from the deck outside their rented cabin. Just inside, the children were sleeping; Nymphadora was passed out on the couch while Harry and Bonnie quietly slept in a bassinet by the doorway.

Lily moved her gaze from the sunset to the kids inside, making sure they were okay. "So, Ann, Sirius, where are we going for Nym's birthday? It's tomorrow and we're all packed to move to the next city whenever we want to go," Lily asked.

"I've got no idea, Lily," Sirius said calmly, lightly grazing Andromeda's arm with his hand. "We ordered her present awhile ago, but with all the places we've been to in the last six months, I don't think she'll care where we are."

"I guess we could move on to the next city in the morning," added Andromeda. "I think we were going to Greece next. Is that right?"

"Well, if we're going to Greece tomorrow, we'll have to get up early to catch a private Portkey to the square in Athens," Remus remarked, his gaze focusing on the group around the table.

As the group started to make solid plans to travel to Greece, a small grey owl flew down from the skies and landed in front of Sirius.

"That looks like mum's new owl," Sirius remarked, reaching for the note tied to the owl's leg. "Orion, right?" The owl nodded fervently at his look. "The little guy came by once or twice when you three were in hiding. The old Black family owl died last summer. Kreacher must have been overjoyed."

"As amusing as your mum's house-elf is, Padfoot," Remus interjected, his patience waning, "what does your _lovely_ mother want? Seems a little light to be a present for Dora," he pointed out, fingering the note that was in Sirius's hands.

"Well…" Sirius started, after a few moments, "it looks like we'll have to put Greece on hold for a day. Mum wants us to come to Grimmauld Place tomorrow to celebrate Nym's seventh birthday. And ooh, she says there's a surprise waiting for us there." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows during the last part of the note.

The group stared silently at Sirius for a few minutes until James cleared his throat. "Well, I haven't seen your mum in a few years." His brow wrinkled in thought. "I think since Nym was born… Yes that's it; I remember having to clear her for the wards. _Charming_ woman she is. Sirius didn't fall too far from the tree did he?" James cracked, winking at his friend.

"Yes, she might not be the easiest woman to be around, _James_," Andromeda warned the Marauder, "but she is Dora's grandmum and under that rough Black exterior, she has a soft spot for the few Muggle-lovers in the family. She's a breeze compared to my parents." A bitter look came briefly onto Andromeda's face as she mentioned her parents.

"Well, I guess it's decided then." Lily entered the conversation, standing up from her seat and clapping her hands together. "It's a good thing we were already packed to leave. We'll just have to get Nym up early and leave Harry and Bonnie sleeping in their bassinet. It'll be easier to travel with them like that. Then we head to the central floo hub in town and make for Grimmauld Place." With that the group of adults left the deck for their bedrooms, knowing an early day was ahead of them.

The sleepy group made their way to the floo station the next morning; the babies were still sleeping and the birthday girl, Nymphadora, was content to lightly doze on Sirius's shoulder during the trip. One by one, the group used the floo, throwing in powder and crying out, "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place," and each disappeared into the green flames of the fireplace.

The group was greeted on their entrance to the Black family home by a grumpy looking house-elf and a stern older woman, with black hair pulled back in a knot. The room was covered in frilly pink and purple birthday decorations that looked quite out of place amid the upholstered furniture, and the dark green accents in the room.

"Welcome home, Sirius. I'm glad you got my note and brought the _family_," Walburga greeted the group. Her smile slowly became a slight sneer at the presence of the Potters and Remus Lupin.

"_Mum_, be nice," Sirius scolded his mother. "Let's not fight on Nym's birthday, after all. Once today is over, you can go back to whining about how I've disrespected our name one way or the other in peace. You still love me, anyway," he finished, giving his mother a peck on the cheek.

Walburga rolled her eyes at her son's brashness. "Yes, well, I knew from the start you'd be the one keeping my hands full. If it wasn't for my initiative, I might not have any grandchildren giving me the hope of keeping the Black name thriving well into the future--not to mention, your girls seem to have inherited the Black beauty, which I must say, seems to have skipped your generation, Sirius."

"We may not agree on many things, Mrs. Black, but Sirius's looks is one of them," James chuckled. "I think the girls will be glad that they've taken after their mum more than him. Although, Sirius is so vain that I doubt he's noticed."

Lily took that moment to slap her husband's arm. "Shush, James. The children will wake up soon. We should eat breakfast." She handed James the bassinet carrying Harry and Bonnie and began to lightly shove him towards the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

The group didn't move quickly enough and little Nymphadora awoke before they had reached the kitchen. Her blinking eyes quickly took in the room and hallway covered with birthday decorations. Sirius gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, Nymmy."

The young girl's face lit up with excitement as she hugged her dad and noticed her grandmum right behind them. "Grandmum, what are you doing here in Morococoa?" the girl asked.

"No, sweetie, we left _Morocco_, while you were sleeping. We're spending your birthday here at your grandmum's place," Andromeda corrected her daughter, lightly brushing her daughter's lavender hair away from the girl's face.

"And since you are the birthday girl, Nymphadora," Walburga said, ignoring the look her granddaughter shot her on hearing her full name, "why don't you lead us to the kitchen to see the surprise I have for your family?"

Nymphadora needed no more prompting. She quickly got down from Sirius's arms and scurried down the hallway, into the kitchen. The rest of the group slowly followed her, chuckling at Nymphadora's enthusiasm. A loud shriek from the girl brought all except Walburga Black rushing into the kitchen. They were greeted with an unexpected sight.

"AUNT CISSY!" young Nymphadora shrieked, as she ran up to her aunt, jumping into her arms. "I haven't seen you in… a LONG TIME." Nymphadora stretched out her arms to indicate how long it had been.

Narcissa kissed the little girl's cheek and said with a soft smile, "You've certainly grown since I last saw you."

"Now this is a pleasant surprise," Sirius said, taking in the scene of his daughter in his cousin's arms. "I'm surprised Malfoy let you out. I'm glad you're here though, with family." He didn't notice the looks coming from Narcissa and Walburga, but Lily did.

Lily's inquisitive gaze became compassionate as she hugged her best friend and asked, "You've been here for awhile, haven't you, Cissy?"

Noticing the questioning looks that appeared on the wizards' faces, Narcissa stalled. "Let's enjoy Nymmy's birthday first. I'll explain everything tonight." Though they were unsatisfied with her answers, the adults were content to enjoy Nymphadora's birthday. They could wait until later to hear Cissy's story.

And the little girl enjoyed her birthday. Nymphadora received from her grandmum, a lovely bracelet with the name 'Black' engraved on it. Walburga had worn it when she was growing up. Sirius and Andromeda got their daughter a green baby iguana. She was quick to name the iguana Bubbles, much to Sirius's dismay. Remus gave Nymphadora an ornately carved, cherry music box and the Potters gave her a toy Quaffle.

The group spent the rest of the day playing games of tag and musical chairs. At one point there was even a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-house-elf, which dismayed the poor servant and disgusted many of the witches in the house. Once the night wound down, the exhausted children were put to bed in Sirius's old room. The adults then congregated around the kitchen table, listening to Narcissa's tale.

"HE DID WHAT?" Sirius raged, his fist slamming the tabletop. "That slimy Death Eater. I should go over there right now and show him a thing or two!"

Andromeda reached over and rubbed Sirius's back, trying to soothe his rage. "Calm down, Sirius, or you'll wake the kids. Lucius has the Ministry in his pocket with the money he flaunts around. We don't want to muddy our progress by trying to tear him down. No matter how much I'd like to curse him right now." Her intense gaze was concentrated on her sister, sitting across from her.

"Listen," Narcissa said reaching over and placing her hand on top of Sirius and Andromeda's joined hands, "it was a vicious moment, and I was scared for my life, but I've spent the last five years as just a tool to Lucius. He spent more time consorting with his victims than with me, once he'd done enough to sire an heir. I'm thankful for his ignorance over the years, as I've been able to stay alive through you. The important thing is that the marriage was dissolved by Lucius, Walburga made sure of it. I am proudly a Black again, something I wish I'd stayed as." Her eyes conveyed a strange emotion as she looked at Sirius.

"Well, I think I can speak for all of us, Cissy," Lily said, rubbing Narcissa's arm, "when I say that we want you to join us on our trip. You've been restrained far too long by that Malfoy; it's time for you to be with family." A large smile grew on Lily's face, and Narcissa's face lit up at the offer. "And we're going to _Greece_ tomorrow. Doesn't that sound lovely?"

So Narcissa officially joined the unusual traveling family. The next morning, they bid goodbye to Walburga Black and the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black and went on their way to Greece.

* * *

It was a warm, sunny day in early August in the town of Ottery St. Catchpole. Just south of town, beyond the hills and trees, stood a slightly lopsided house surrounded by a large area of land with several hedges and a lake by its side. It was the home of Arthur and Molly Weasley, better known to visitors as the Burrow. On this day, there was to be a birthday party for the youngest Weasley child. And everyone in the Burrow was surprised when a group of six adult wizards and three children Apparated into the garden and walked to the front door. 

Before James Potter could knock on the door, Nymphadora jumped to the front of the group and burst inside. "BILL! CHARLIE! WE'RE HERE!" she shouted, leaving behind her family at the doorway, bemused looks on their faces.

They made their way through the kitchen following the path Nymphadora had taken and were besieged by Weasleys upon their entrance to the den.

"Oh, my! James! Lily!" Molly greeted the visitors with hugs. "What a surprise to see all of you make it to Ginevra's party."

"I hope you don't mind," James said as he shook Arthur's hand, and took in the atmosphere of the room. "We were back in the country and decided it'd been far too long since we've seen you bunch."

"Not at all, James," Arthur assured his friend. "It's a time to celebrate with friends and family. Just look how much your kids are enjoying themselves." He pointed to the middle of the room where Harry was chasing around Arthur's twin boys, Fred and George.

Sirius wove his way to the corner of the room, where Nymphadora and the two oldest Weasley boys, Bill and Charlie, were huddled over a piece of parchment atop the center of the table they were sitting at.

"Just what are you rascals up to?" Sirius asked, ruffling his daughter's now-red hair while grinning at the two boys.

"Well, Mr. Black, it's my Hogwarts letter," Bill said proudly. "It's so exciting; Mum took me to Diagon Alley last week so I could get my books and wand."

"Oh, wow! You got your wand already? Can I see it?" Nymphadora asked excitedly.

"Sorry, Nym," Charlie spoke up. "Mum put it away once they got home from Diagon Alley. I think she's afraid Bill will leave it lying around, and Fred or George will nab it."

"With good reason it seems," Sirius said, looking towards the Weasley twins. They were making faces at their older brother, Percy, who was trying valiantly to ignore them. "They seem to get into enough trouble without a wand at their disposal."

"Aw, but they're just little," pouted Bill. "How am I supposed to be ready for Hogwarts if I can't handle my own wand?"

Sirius smirked at the unintended double entendre. "Don't worry about it Bill. Everyone starts on the same level at Hogwarts, even the ghosts."

"Ghosts live at Hogwarts? Wow!" Nymphadora exclaimed, excitement lighting her face. "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts. It sounds so cool!"

"If you think that's cool, we have a ghoul in our attic," said Charlie.

"Yea, c'mon Nym, we'll show it to you," agreed Bill. The three children rose up from their seats, and ran up the stairs giggling.

Sirius turned his attention back to the rest of the room and moved to sit next to Remus, who was watching James try to beat Percy in chess. Andromeda, Narcissa, and Lily joined Molly on the couch. Bonnie and Ginny sitting on their respective mothers' laps.

"I envy you, Molly," Narcissa said, a look of longing on her face. "Being surrounded by all these children, it must be fulfilling." She leaned her head on Andromeda's shoulder, content to watch the little girls play.

Molly sighed, looking from her daughter playing with Bonnie, to her youngest son running around the room with Harry. "It is, but they grow up so fast. Soon enough, Ginny will be running around this house and I won't have a moment's peace."

"They all grow up eventually, some slower than others," Lily replied, looking over at her husband and his friends.

"I didn't realize how much they look like sisters," Andromeda pointed out, brushing a lock of her daughter's dark auburn hair from the girl's face.

"They do, don't they?" Molly softly mused. "They'll have to stick together with all these boys running around." She looked towards the kitchen. "Supper should be ready. Tell the boys while I go finish."

"Not by yourself, you don't, Molly," Lily said, putting her left hand on Molly's arm, while signaling to James with her right. "We'll help you get supper on the table. James will make sure the boys are there shortly." The witches rose from their seats and headed towards the kitchen, side-stepping a mess of blocks that had just been used by Harry and Ron.

James had just finished losing handily to young Percy when he caught his wife's signal. He nodded in her direction and moved over to where the men were currently congregating. As he reached the group, James noticed the serious looks on Remus's and Sirius's faces as they listened to what Arthur was quietly saying.

"Everything alright, boys?" James asked, pulling out a chair and joining them at the table.

"Arthur was just telling us what happened to the Longbottoms, James." Remus replied, his eyes not moving from the table.

"Frank and Alice? They were in Andromeda's year, weren't they?" James asked. "Weren't they in hiding like we were?"

"Yes, them," Arthur answered, "and yes they were. However, once word got around that You-Know-Who was defeated…" Arthur paused for a second to make sure James was okay with the mention of Halloween night. "Frank and Alice went to see Albus and got him to remove the Fidelius. Everything was fine until last month. Some Death Eaters broke into their home and tortured them for information on where their Master was."

Remus picked up where Arthur left off. "Aurors arrived shortly after and were able to capture the Death Eaters responsible. They didn't make it in time. Frank and Alice were tortured with the Cruciatus to the brink of insanity. Luckily, their son, Neville, was found unharmed in his bedroom."

"Who was responsible?" asked James.

"My cousin," Sirius responded bitterly. "And the Lestranges."

"And Barty Crouch," added Arthur. At the looks of confusion he was getting, he continued, "At Igor Karkaroff's trial last week, he named Crouch, Jr. as the mastermind behind the attack. He was arrested shortly after. Bartemius isn't having an easy time around the Ministry these days; rumors are he's going to be demoted to some low-level office."

"Couldn't happen to a better man," Sirius muttered. "If he ended up being the Minister of Magic, I think I would've lived life comfortably as a Muggle."

"A Muggle, Padfoot?" James asked incredulously. "You can't get dressed without using your wand. I doubt Andromeda would go along with it, and just how would you explain a metamorphmagus daughter to Muggles?"

"And Neville? Where will he be going?" Remus asked Arthur, trying to steer the conversation back.

"With his grandmother. Augusta won't let him out of her sight since she took over for his care. He's all she has now, with Frank in St. Mungo's with Alice," answered Arthur, letting out a sigh and standing up from the table. "Enough of this dreary talk, boys. Let's head to the kitchen and have supper before Molly and the girls let us have it."

The men joined the rest of the family for supper, where they sang little Ginny her birthday song and laughed as the children messily ate their pieces of cake. Even with Lord Voldemort having been gone for nearly a year, there were still threats in the world and the attack on the Longbottoms proved that. It took a little while, but slowly the wizards were able to put aside their dark thoughts and took the opportunity to enjoy the night, remembering the good things in life should be cherished.


	5. Connections

**Chapter Five - Connections**

A few years had passed and the Potters and Blacks were currently staying at a beautiful villa in the south of France. They were enjoying their last summer of traveling. Just last week, Nymphadora Black, the oldest child in the group, received her admission letter from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The villa they were staying at was owned by a noble French family, the Delacours.

Jean and Rochelle Delacour had two girls, Fleur, who was nine years old, and Gabrielle, a toddler at two years old. When the Potters had heard the Delacours had young children, James made sure to give them an open invitation while they were staying there, pointing out that they'd probably enjoy being around the Potter and Black children.

Speaking of children, the Potters had seen a few additions as the years passed. In October of 1983, just a year after they had visited the Weasley's for Ginny's first birthday, Lily gave birth to twin girls, Rose and Daisy Potter. Like Harry before her, Rose had raven hair, while Daisy came out with a strawberry blonde blend. However, they both had their Dad's hazel eyes.

They had returned to England for the births, and stayed for several months until they felt the newborns were old enough to endure the traveling. To Harry, being surrounded by girls was nothing new. He lived with the Black girls, so he quickly took a liking to his new sisters and could be often seen watching them while they were being held by his mum or his aunts.

Currently, the now six-year-old Harry Potter was being chased by a red-faced blonde girl and a purple-haired girl. "'ARRY JAMES! 'Ou will give me back zat book!" shouted the blonde girl gaining ground on him.

"Fleur," Harry said, ducking her swipe at his head. "You said I could look at it. And I asked!"

"I deed no such thing!" denied Fleur, "I said 'ou could look at eet, not grab eet."

Harry did not see the other girl going around them and sneaking up from behind until it was too late. The book was snatched from his hands and he whirled around to face his new attacker.

"Nym! Gimme that back," pouted Harry. "I was only going to hide it. I promise."

Eleven-year-old Nymphadora Black could see right through Harry's innocent look, "sure you were, Squirt. Now apologize to Fleur and give her book back." Nymphadora brandished her newly acquired wand, sparks coming out from the tip, giving her a more intimidating look.

Harry turned around and reluctantly handed Fleur her book back. A satisfied smirk came upon the girl's face once the book was back in her possession. "See 'Arry, eet's not 'ard to be good."

"Not much fun either," grumbled Harry. Next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, staring up at the sky, and his butt hurt. A smirking Nym was looking down at him.

"You're right about that, Harry. Now let's get back to the house before your mum sends a search party for us," Nym said, prancing away from the scene of the crime, arm-in-arm with a giggling Fleur.

Upon returning to the villa, they noticed the adults sitting at the dining table chatting away; Lily and Narcissa were holding Daisy and Rose in their laps.

"And where have you three been all day?" Lily asked, moving her gaze from her baby daughter to the newly arrived trio.

"We've just been running around outside," Nym replied, avoiding her aunt's gaze.

"Well, we can certainly see that," said Andromeda, looking at the children's dirt-covered clothes. "Go upstairs and wash up before supper."

"Sure, Mum."

"Okay, Aunt Andromeda."

"Yes, Mrs. Black."

The three quickly ran up the stairs, and went to their respective rooms to clean up. Harry quietly opened his wardrobe to grab a change of clothes and crept to the bathroom, careful not to wake up a sleeping Bonnie on the other bed. Downstairs, the men were in the middle of an argument.

"I'm sorry, James. I just don't have the credibility to continue on as the solicitor for the company," said a weary Remus.

"But, Moony, You've been doing it since we started. Why change that now?" asked a puzzled James.

"I took the position at the beginning because we were just starting up. Now that the company has successfully grown in these five years, it's time to put a more proper person into the role. I'm discriminated against too much to justify staying as solicitor; I think we'd have an easier time if you put someone less controversial in that position," Remus explained to the group.

"Alright, Moony, if that's what you want," answered Sirius. "I wish you had said something sooner and maybe one of the girls could've taken the spot. Ann has her hands full with Harry's gifts and letters, Lily deals with the publishers and sponsors, and I can't tear Cissy away from the joys of being Harry's publicist. We'll have to hire from the outside."

James groaned from beside Sirius, "And here I thought we were done with interviewing people. Well, Remus, the least you can do is to take on an administrative role with the company. I think all our paperwork would be much safer in your hands than mine," James smirked, knowing he'd just lessened his own workload by creating a new position for his friend.

"That would be perfect for you, Remus," agreed Lily. "It'd be much easier for me to coordinate with you than with this prat," she said, patting her husband's head affectionately.

"Now that we've got that settled." Andromeda jumped into the conversation, not letting Remus answer. "Let's get supper started before the children come back downstairs." She lightly bopped the noses of the twin girls as she made her way to the kitchen. Lily and Narcissa handed the now giggling girls to James and Sirius, and joined Andromeda in the kitchen.

"We're going to have to line up interviews when we get back to England," Sirius said, as he was pretending to braid Rose's hair.

"I have someone in mind," replied Remus. "It's why I decided to bring this up now instead of later. I'll make sure she makes it to the interviews you arrange."

"Sounds like you've had everything planned, Moony," James commented. "If you think this person is good enough to be your replacement, maybe we shouldn't hold interviews."

"No, James. We should be fair and open it to all eligible. I know she wouldn't accept it without competition anyways; she'd see it too much as a favor to her than anything to do with her actual skill," Remus answered.

"Okay, guys. Enough business talk. Let's enjoy our remaining time here in France without worrying what's happening back home. We'll have enough to deal with when our children have to part from the Delacour girls when we leave," said Sirius.

All three wizards nodded their heads and headed towards the kitchen, intent on causing some mischief that night.

* * *

_September 1, 1986_

_Dear Harry Potter,_

_Hi, my name is Ginny and I'm 5 years old. My mum is helping me write to you. She says she's friends with your mum and that you came to my first birthday party. I've seen the pictures! She read to me a story in the paper about writing to you and now I am. Maybe you could have lunch here at my home. We have Gnomes! But mum says I'm too little to throw them. Bye!_

_Ginevra Molly Weasley_

* * *

It had been a week since Nymphadora Black had excitedly departed for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and things at the Potter Estate were slowly going back to normal. On this morning, Harry Potter woke up with a wet ear and could hear conversations floating up from the floor below. The cause of his wet ear and the arm thrown lightly around him was Bonnie Black, currently drooling on her pillow right next to him.

They'd been sleeping in the same room ever since Rose and Daisy had been born. It'd been easier for the adults to keep watch over the children if they slept in the same room, so they started sharing a room with Nym. By the end of their family's travels, Nym got her own room, and Harry and Bonnie had to share a room with the twins instead. Once everyone had returned home, Bonnie had been put in a room across from Harry's, but for the next week the adults kept finding Bonnie sleeping next to Harry every morning so they decided to let them share a room.

'Bonnie forgot to close the door,' thought Harry, shrugging Bonnie's arm off and leaving the confines of the bed to open his wardrobe. He glanced at the picture of Nym that was in the room, it had only been a week but he already missed her. They had just gotten an owl from her the other night. Nym wrote about being sorted into Hufflepuff and crossing paths with Bill and Charlie Weasley, who were fifth and third year Gryffindors, respectively. Also apparently, Snape, a wizard the children knew a lot about from their fathers' stories was the school's Potions Master. James and Sirius hadn't looked too pleased at that revelation.

Harry looked back to the sleeping Bonnie on the bed and shook his head. She'd never been much of a morning person, much like her dad. His attention once again turned to the open doorway, the voices drifting up meant that his dad and Sirius had started to take interviews for the solicitor position. Harry just hoped it didn't take them all day, they had promised to take him and Bonnie out flying.

As Harry left his room and headed towards the bathroom, the voices coming from below gradually grew clearer. James and Sirius were in the middle of doing interviews that morning. They had told Lily to place a small blurb at the end of last week's Potter Black, Inc. newsletter about the open position, so they were expecting a nice turnout; however they hadn't expected the overwhelming response they received when they opened the doors to let the candidates in.

"Sirius!" James shouted as he weaved his way through the candidates. "Have you seen where I left my wand?"

Sirius was frantically trying to find the paperwork of the applicant he was preparing to interview. "No James, did you ask Twinkle? I think he picked up the mess we left in the library last night."

James stopped when he reached their joined desks and shook his head. "No, I asked him already. If Twinkle had seen it there, he would've moved it to my bedside table overnight." James looked back through the doorway, at the path he just came from. "None of these applicants look seedy, so I don't think I have to worry about them nicking it. I'd just feel more comfortable knowing where it is."

Sirius was about to give up his search when Andromeda entered the room, a smug smile on her face. "Hello, boys. I see it's going to be a long day for the two of you. My sympathies." She stopped behind Sirius, patting her husband's shoulder. "I'd normally let you suffer, but this is important." She pecked Sirius's cheek and tossed a folder onto his desk before walking towards the door. "And James, Lily said to let you know that she has your wand. Something about a cereal box." She shrugged and left the room. The wizards in the room were left less stressed about the day they had ahead of them.

It wasn't until late in the afternoon that the halls of the Potter Estate were safely clear. Only a tall brunette, the last candidate, remained. It was Olivia Greengrass, the witch Remus was recommending to take his place. She had been running late trying to find a sitter for her daughter, and was one of the last to arrive at the estate. She was currently sitting with James and Sirius, getting interviewed.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience, James," Olivia said, patting the arm of her daughter who was quietly sitting next to her, eyes wide with wonder at the room they were in. "Since Dmitri's passing, it's just been the two of us and our house-elf. I didn't feel comfortable leaving Daphne alone with Locke. He's getting up there in age and tends to be forgetful if not pressed. I knew the two of you had children so I assumed it'd be fine to bring my daughter with me, I hope I'm not being too forward."

"It's no trouble, Olivia. Our children would be running around this place if Lily hadn't sequestered them to the playroom and your daughter seems like a darling. You've come here highly recommended by Remus," James said, smiling at the witch and her daughter. "And since you'll be working closely with all of us, your daughter is welcome to stay with our children while we take care of business. Sirius's daughter just started at Hogwarts, but Harry, Bonnie and the twins are here at the estate all day."

A slight blush lit Olivia's features at James's offer. "Thank you, James, Sirius. I appreciate the warm welcome. I was expecting this to go a lot tougher than it has. When would you like me to start?"

"As soon as you can," added Sirius, looking up from Olivia's file. "Remus said he'd stay on until we found his replacement. How about Monday? You can leave Daphne with our children before we start."

"And believe us when we say you're the best candidate for the job. You and your daughter also add to the family atmosphere we keep around the company. Hopefully we'll become great friends as well when time pass—" James was interrupted when the door to the study burst open.

"DAD! Dad!" Harry shouted as he ran into the room. "You said we'd go flying today and it's getting…" Harry paused, his face turning pale, as he realized he'd interrupted a meeting. "Late."

James smirked at his son's arrival. "Harry, since you're here I'd like you to meet Ms. Greengrass. She'll be our new solicitor, and that is her daughter Daphne. She's about your age."

Harry shyly turned towards the Greengrass family. Olivia smiled down at him; while Daphne leaned forward just enough in her seat to peek across her mum's body at Harry. She looked skinnier than Bonnie and her shoulder-length hair was a mousy brown.

Harry's manners kicked in and he shook Olivia's hand and greeted Daphne. "Hi Daphne, I'm Harry. So you are six too?"

Daphne smiled and nodded slightly. "My birthday is in February. Mummy took me to a unicorn parade."

"Oh well, my Dad and Uncle Sirius took all of us to see bulls chasing Muggles in Spain before my birthday." Harry replied, not noticing Olivia's rising eyebrows or that she mouthed 'bull chasing' questioningly towards James.

"Yes, Muggles are quite silly," laughed James nervously. "Anyway, I do believe we promised to take you and Bonnie flying Harry, so grab our brooms and get Bonnie. We'll meet you out back."

"Okay, Dad. Bye Sirius, Ms. Greengrass, Daphne." Harry left the study as quickly as he had entered, the adults laughing softly at his excitement.

* * *

_December 10, 1986_

_Dear Ginny,_

_Sorry this is so late. __**(I've Flooed your mum about it, darling. – Harry's mum.) **__Your owl got mixed up with the fan letters that were for me and that pile is really big! My Aunt Andromeda was so mad that it happened. She gave Twinkle, one of my house-elves, a real scolding. Reminds me of this one time Nym and I had borrowed a robe from her wardrobe and used it to make a flag. We had to sit in the corner the rest of the day, she was so mad. Nym goes to Hogwarts with your brothers, maybe they've talked about her? I can't wait to go to Hogwarts. It sounds like so much fun. I don't know when I can visit your home, my parents are either busy with work or watching us, and my mum says you have a lot of brothers and she thinks we're too young to go over on our own. We'd be more trouble than we're worth. At least that's what Mum says. Owl me!_

_Harry James Potter_

_P.S.: My aunt let me add this before she sent it. It's a chocolate frog! My Uncle Remus has so many of them in his desk drawer; I think it's all he eats. I'm eating one right now, and when you get this you can eat it, so it'd be like we're eating together._

_P.P.S.: Happy Christmas!_

* * *

The Potter Black company continued its success in the years following the hiring of Olivia Greengrass. Without the prejudice thrown at Remus when he held the position, negotiations ran more smoothly and deals were made at more modest prices. Lily published a book about the family's travels, what they saw, where they went and how Harry and the children grew up. It quickly became a bestseller and Lily went on a book tour throughout England with Harry.

As Harry got older, they were able to let him reply to more 'Ask the Boy-Who-Lived' letters that got through Andromeda's screening process. Harry also became more visible to the public; Narcissa arranged for Harry to release the Snitch at several Quidditch games, visit kids at St. Mungo's and attend photo shoots for teen and family magazines.

The business side wasn't the only part of their lives to thrive. Sirius's mom, Walburga Black, passed away shortly before Christmas 1987, leaving everything to her son and his family, including Grimmauld place and the Black family house-elf, Kreacher. After sealing his childhood home, Sirius brought Kreacher back to the Potter Estate. With another house-elf serving the family, they were able to reorganize the duties to make it easier on the three servants. Kreacher, being the grumpiest and rudest of the three was given yard and security duty, as to keep him away from visitors to the estate as much as possible. Twinkle, became the main house-elf of the estate, taking care of anything that needed to be cleaned and making sure the others did their jobs. Binky, the lone female house-elf, had her duties focused towards cooking meals, watching the children and being the personal house-elf for the witches of the family.

Daisy and Rose, the twin Potter girls were not the last additions to the family. During the fall of 1987, it was revealed that all three witches living in the Potter Estate were pregnant. Lily was ecstatic to be able to share the experience with her best friends and that she'd be on her way to her fourth child. Narcissa's pregnancy brought some understanding towards Remus and the Potters on how close she was to Sirius and her sister, but they couldn't care less; they were just glad Narcissa would finally be having a child she could love to her heart's content.

So in February of 1988, Jack Potter was welcomed to the family. Unlike his older brother and sisters, he took after his mum, having red hair and green eyes. In April, Andromeda gave birth to a boy, Orion Black. Sirius was so overjoyed that he endured the ribbing he got from James and Remus for naming his son after his estranged late father. Orion looked like an exact clone of Sirius, with the black hair and grey eyes. A little over a month later, in May, Narcissa gave birth to Artemis Black, a healthy baby girl. She was pretty with blonde hair and lovely blue eyes. The births revitalized Sirius; he often was found watching over his new son and daughter during their restless nights, while Andromeda and Narcissa got their rest.

Lily, Narcissa, and Andromeda also made sure to keep in touch with the Delacours. Ever since that first visit, the summer before Nym's first year at Hogwarts, they'd made sure the family went there every summer for at least a few weeks. Fleur entered the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic the fall following the births of the latest Potter and Black babies. Gabrielle had grown into an energetic girl, and had become best friends with Daisy and Rose Potter. The three girls were never seen apart during their stays.

Daphne Greengrass quickly became a fixture in the household. Most days she could be found playing with Harry and Bonnie. She slowly became accustomed to being around so many children, though she did display some haughty behavior when things would get really chaotic. Harry's pranks, like changing all of Sirius's shampoos to honey—resulting in Sirius spending the day being chased by bees--and Bonnie's tomboyish antics, like sliding down the banisters in the estate, offset Daphne's reluctance in their trio and made days around the Potter Estate always adventurous.

Harry continued to receive a few owls each year from little Ginny Weasley. She was always enthusiastic in her letters, asking questions about Harry and his family. Harry did the same, often wondering how life with so many boys was for her, since it was the exact opposite of his home. Their mums talked on the floo several times a month, however things just seemed to never fall into place for Harry to visit the Burrow. With Molly having to watch her children, and Harry not being allowed to go outside of the Estate boundaries by himself, owls were the only form of communication between the two. After Nym's third year at Hogwarts, she stayed at the Burrow for a week, playing with her friends, Bill and Charlie Weasley. Harry came along with Sirius and Remus to pick up Nym, but missed seeing any of the Weasleys outside of Molly and Fred and George, who were being punished for throwing their brother, Percy's glasses down the loo that very morning.

Anything that happened during the year would intensify during the summer when Nym would return from a year at Hogwarts. She quickly fell back into her role as the lead prankster of the children, showing Harry what she'd learned at Hogwarts and joke items she'd bought from her trips to Hogsmeade. Nym also accepted Daphne into the fold, treating her as another little sister, being attentive to her but also making sure to include her in any ribbing that went on.

This was the atmosphere that explained why the now, eleven-year-old Harry Potter was currently being chased down the hall by a wet, towel-clad, Sirius Black. Sirius had been relaxing in the tub, when someone had thrown a Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start No-Heat Fireworks in with him. A surprised yelp was followed by yelling and some girlish screams. Once Sirius had extricated himself from the chaotic bathroom, he found a giggling Harry, Rose and Daisy Potter on the hallway floor in front of the doorway. While the twin girls had ran left, down the hall towards their rooms, Harry had split in the other direction; towards the kitchens where there was no escape.

"Harry!" Sirius shouted, his hand gripping the towel around his waist. "Can't I get one day of relaxation without you or Nym causing havoc!"

"What's the fun in that, Uncle Sirius?" Harry answered over his shoulder, pushing open a window and climbing out onto the ledge.

"Your mum will kill me if you don't get back in here," Sirius said, nervously eyeing the narrow ledge Harry was walking on.

"Maybe." Harry halted his steps to look back at Sirius. "But I think you just want me back inside so you can get your hands on me." He stuck out his tongue at his uncle and proceeded to grab Nym's Comet 260 that he'd taken from the shed and stashed on the ledge earlier. Harry mounted the broom and kicked off the ledge, leaving his uncle behind laughing from the window.

Harry flew towards his bedroom window, which he'd left open before he and his sisters had gone to prank their uncle. Awaiting him inside was Bonnie, who seemed to be staring at an envelope in her hands.

"Hey Bonnie, what's the matter?" Harry asked, putting the broom against the wall and sitting on the bed besides her. "I thought you'd be a little more excited that I pranked your dad this morning." He shook her shoulder lightly when she didn't respond.

"Oh… Harry," Bonnie answered distractedly, realizing his presence. "I didn't see you come in. _It_ came, you know."

"What came?" Harry leaned over her shoulder to get a better look at what Bonnie was holding.

Bonnie turned her head enough to face Harry and gave him a bittersweet smile. "Your Hogwarts letter, silly."

Harry's shocked eyes left her face and turned its attention to the envelope in her hand. The time had finally come for Harry Potter to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	6. Diagon Alley

Author's Note: The Hogwarts welcome letter is taken from Sorceror's Stone (CH 4)

**Chapter Six - Diagon Alley**

Harry let out a whoop, hugging Bonnie and taking the letter from her hands. He ran out of their room and down the hall towards the dining area, where everyone would be starting breakfast. In his excitement over the letter, Harry didn't notice that Bonnie hadn't followed him out. He burst into the room, a big smile on his face as he waved the envelope in the air.

"It came! It came!" Harry skidded to a stop in front of his seated parents.

"Whoa, slow down, champ," James said, humor alight in his eyes. "Did the latest issue of Which Broomstick come out today?"

"No Dad," pouted Harry. "But my Hogwarts letter did!" He thrust the envelope into James's face, smiling at the others seated at the table. "I mean, I knew it was coming, but you're never sure until it does." He looked down to hide his nervousness.

"Congratulations, baby," Lily said, wrapping her arms around her son from behind. "My little boy is going to Hogwarts. You're getting so big these days."

"Aw, Mum," a blush rose on Harry's cheeks as he leant into his mum's embrace. "I'm eleven. Jack's the baby now." He reached over to ruffle his three-year-old brother's head.

"You'll always be my baby, Harry." Lily laid a kiss on his forehead and moved back to the stove to continue serving breakfast.

"Now, let's take a look at this letter of yours." James opened the envelope and pulled out the letter and read aloud:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later than July 31._

_Yours Sincerely,_

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

James looked at the parchment behind the acceptance letter and let out an appreciative whistle. "We'll definitely need to make a stop at Diagon Alley this week; Harry can use Nym's books from her first year but everything else we'll have to buy. I always forget that first year is so expensive."

"I told you to come with us when we took Nym shopping for her first Hogwarts year all those years ago, James." Andromeda had stopped feeding Orion to comment. "It had been so long since we'd gone to buy books for ourselves to use at Hogwarts. It took a few shops before we remembered where everything was."

"Now, Ann, let's be fair about things. We'd just gotten back from our trip back then. With all the unpacking and setting up that needed to get done, it only made sense for you and Sirius to go with your daughter," James pointed out.

"Uh, Dad?" Harry pulled on his dad's sleeve to get his attention. "Can I get my own broom when we go to Diagon Alley?"

"Harry, it says right here that first years aren't allowed brooms," Lily answered, looking up from her son's Hogwarts letter.

"I'm afraid your mother's right, Harry," agreed James. "Even if you were able to sneak a broomstick in, there's no way you'd be able to hang onto it with Snivellus, I mean Snape, snooping around. I'll tell you what, how about a pet? I'm sure Bubbles could use a friend," James smirked at Sirius.

"Yeah, Harry, that would be fun," Nym said as she entered the room. Her dressing robe was hastily tied, revealing a bit of the thin nightgown she wore underneath. Sitting down in the open seat next to Remus, she leaned over towards Harry. "Better yet, you should get an owl. It's such a drag to have to use a school owl, and it'd be easier for everyone here to recognize when one of us is sending a letter to them."

Remus nodded in agreement at the teen girl's statement, but also subtly scooted his chair away from her direction as he saw Sirius glaring at her state of attire. "I'll talk to Olivia when she gets here. We'll figure out what day this week will be good for you to take Harry to Diagon Alley, James. You should probably take Dora with you, one less trip for us to make and the smaller party should keep Harry from being too visible to the public."

All parties involved agreed to the idea and commenced eating breakfast. Bonnie dragged herself into the room a little while later and plunked herself down in her seat next to Harry. Only Nym seemed to notice that her eyes were slightly red, presumably from crying, but she chose not to mention anything at the table to embarrass her sister. She caught Bonnie's gaze and gave her an encouraging smile. Nym seemed to have an idea of what had put her sister in the mood for tears.

It wasn't until the next Wednesday that they finally had time to visit Diagon Alley. During that time, Bonnie had been acting a bit subdued during the day around Harry and very clingy when they went to sleep at night. Harry was puzzled by her odd actions, but figured it was just something to do with her being a girl. He lived with enough females in this household to know that sometimes there were no explanations for what they did, and that he should just nod his head and agree during these times.

Lily had agreed to accompany James, Harry, and Nym to Diagon Alley. She'd leave Rose, Daisy, and Jack in the capable hands of their aunts, while she helped Nym with her shopping--something she was sure James wouldn't be able to handle. Daphne would be taken another day with her mum and Remus. It was decided it'd be safer to keep her away from the chaos that was bound to happen when they took Harry to Diagon Alley. Before they left for Diagon Alley, Nym pulled Bonnie over to the side.

"You know you're being silly about this, right?" Nym whispered to her sister.

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie avoided looking directly at Nym.

"Harry is what," Nym reached out with her hand and turned Bonnie's face towards her. "You're upset that he'll be going off to Hogwarts for nine months and you won't be able to join him there until next year. But what you're missing, is the fact that he's still here for the next few weeks and you'll waste it if you're just moping around denying what's going to happen anyway, whether you like it or not."

"I know that, but we've never been apart since I can remember. He's my best friend. We do everything together," Bonnie replied, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"And he'll still be your best friend even if he's in Scotland and you're here at the estate." Nym put her arm around her sister, who melted into the comforting embrace.

"I'll miss him."

"Don't worry, sis. I'll make sure the lug writes home every week. I'll tell Uncle James to make sure Harry gets an owl, that way he'll have no excuse to forget to write." Nym gave her sister one last hug before stepping back towards the departing group. She was the last one into the fire. Shouting, "Diagon Alley," she disappeared into the green flames of the fireplace.

Harry stumbled out of the Floo grate, but failed to fall onto the floor thanks to his mum's quick actions of grabbing his arms and keeping him upright. He gave her a flustered smile while she swept ash off his robes. Nym was the last to arrive, tripping right into Harry's back. Despite Harry's scowl, she played it off as a hug and shook her now-auburn hair back from her face. She had decided to match with her Aunt Lily since James and Harry naturally looked similar.

"Well, kids, let's get a move on out of here before you're noticed." James helped block Harry out of the view of the patrons of the Leaky Cauldron as they edged towards the door.

Harry took the moment to look around at the place they had Flooed into. It seemed to be a dingy-looking pub. It was still early in the morning, so the tables were only moderately filled with a few customers standing around the bar. There seemed to be a staircase to the side of the bar, which Harry presumed led to rooms for rent; he did recall his dad saying the Leaky Cauldron was an inn. His train of thought was interrupted by a sharp nudge to his ribs.

"Harry, do you see that wizard by the bar?" Nym asked Harry, subtly nodding in the direction of a trembling wizard by the bar. "That's Professor Quirrell. He's a bit of a shifty one. I heard that he went on a trip the summer after my second year at Hogwarts, and he came back terribly jumpy."

Harry hung onto her every word as they neared a brick wall just outside the Leaky Cauldron. "What does he teach?"

"He's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher if you'll believe it. More suited to be a bookworm, that one," Nym let out a small laugh. James jumped at the sudden noise, causing Lily and Nym to burst into quiet giggles.

"Well," James cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Here we are." He pulled out his wand and tapped the bricks of the wall in front of them, revealing an archway to a bustling marketplace. "Welcome to Diagon Alley, Harry." James grabbed Lily's hand and led the group through the archway and onto the cobbled street.

Nym copied his movement and grabbed Harry's hand, half-dragging him down the street, preventing the young wizard from just standing in the middle of the way, staring in awe at all the magical shops. "C'mon, Harry. We can't blow our cover before we've even shopped." She brushed his hair down over his forehead, making sure the fringe covered his well known scar.

Despite the annoyed look on his face, Harry squeezed her hand and continued walking beside her. He, however, pulled them to a stop in front of the display window of Quality Quidditch Supplies. "Look!" Harry pointed at the main broomstick on display. "The Nimbus Two Thousand. They say it's the fastest model on the market. I'd love to get a chance to fly one."

"I'd think the chances of riding one are pretty slim, Harry. It would take a miracle to convince your mum that buying that broomstick would be any different from my Comet 260. Mind you, I love my Comet 260 but it's not the fastest broom around, that's for sure," Nym said, leaning close to the window, examining the Nimbus 2000 as closely as she could.

"Alright, you two." The two of them turned to see James approaching them. "I think standing and gawking at the latest Nimbus is a wonderful way to spend the day, however, we've got places to be before we get noticed. Your mum's waiting for us at Gringotts, Harry." James swept his arm in front of them, motioning for the two children to lead the way.

They walked up to a large, white marble building. Waiting on the steps was Lily Potter, her fox red hair blowing slightly in the wind. They joined up with her and walked into the building. Inside, hundreds of goblins were sitting behind a long counter, weighing coins, and writing in ledgers. Harry remembered goblins from their time in Egypt. While visiting the local tombs, they had met some curse-breakers who were working for Gringotts.

James led the group to the nearest free goblin. "Hello," he greeted the goblin. "We'd like to make a trip down to our vault, number one hundred and fifteen."

"Very well," answered the goblin, briefly looking up from the parchment on his hands to verify the key in James's hand. "I'll have someone take you down to your vault. Griphook!"

Another goblin came up to them and led them through a door on the side of the corridor. They entered a narrow stone passageway and were greeted by a small cart sitting on railway tracks. Once the group was safely into the cart, they were hurtled down a twisted maze of passages. Nym had been coming down to the vault every year since she started Hogwarts, but this was Harry's first trip to the family vault and he was avidly staring at the glimpses of things he could see as they went by.

Before Harry knew it, the cart had stopped and they had arrived at their vault. Griphook led them to a medium-sized door in the passage wall. Harry gawked at the sight of the door; it had no keyhole, so he looked over at his dad questioningly. James just smiled and nodded towards Griphook.

The goblin reached the door and ran a finger along it, causing a keyhole to suddenly appear by the door handle. James moved forward and used the key in his hand, opening the door and revealing a large room filled with coins, jewels, trunks, parchment, and family heirlooms. When they had first returned home from their trip, James and Sirius decided to put their family and individual vaults into one large high security vault. It made it easier for Remus and Olivia to manage their costs, and reduced the amount of vaults they'd need to take care of at Gringotts.

Once inside, James grabbed a few small leather pouches hanging on the wall and proceeded to fill them up with Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Harry being the only newcomer of the group to the family vault, openly gaped at the wealth surrounding him.

"Yes, we're wealthy, sweetie," Lily said, closing her son's open mouth with her hand. "It doesn't make us better than anyone; we just have more opportunities to do the right thing."

Once they'd taken the cart back up to the ground level, James handed a money pouch to Lily and Nym. He tucked Harry's into his robe pocket. "Well Harry, we need to head off to Madam Malkin's and get you fitted for your school robes. Your mum and Nym need to go other places," James finished uncomfortably, causing Harry to look at the witches questioningly.

"I'm taking Nym over to Morgana's Secret after we stop at Twillfit & Tattings and look at some dress robes," Lily said smiling at her husband's embarrassment.

The girls left, and James pulled his son towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, muttering along the way about how Sirius was going to kill him. "I'm going to get your supplies from the Apothecary while you get your robes, Harry. Don't dawdle and don't attract attention to yourself." James glanced in the direction the girls had gone and sighed, before turning and walking down the road towards the Apothecary.

Harry headed into the store and was immediately shepherded into the back of the store by a smiling witch dressed all in mauve. "Hogwarts, dear? I have another young man being fitted just now, in fact."

Standing on a footstool being attended to by another witch was a pale blonde boy. Harry was guided to the stool next to him and had a robe thrown over him that Madam Malkin immediately began to adjust.

"Hello, Hogwarts too?" the boy asked.

"Yes," answered Harry, shifting the glasses on his face and looking in the mirror to make sure his scar was covered.

"My father is next door with Pansy and her mum at Flourish and Blott's buying our schoolbooks. We're going to look at racing brooms when I finish here. I think it's silly that first years aren't allowed their own brooms." The boy said in a bored, drawling voice.

Harry was anxiously looking at Madam Malkin hoping that she'd be finished soon; he didn't like the obnoxious attitude of the boy next to him.

"Have you got your own broom?" asked the boy.

"No, but I sometimes ride a Comet 260," said Harry.

"Played Quidditch then?" the boy continued.

"Yeah, sometimes. Not a full game or anything since we don't have that many fliers, but we do throw the Quaffle around." Harry liked this subject; he could talk about Quidditch to a rock and have a good time.

"Well, _I _do. Father feels it will be a crime if I'm not on the house team, and I must agree. Slytherin will be unbeatable once I'm there."

"Confident you'll be sorted there?" asked Harry, astounded by the boy's brazen attitude.

"Of course. My family have all been in Slytherin. There aren't any other decent houses. Imagine being in Hufflepuff? I think I'd leave. What's your surname, anyway? I didn't catch it."

"I didn't say it," Harry answered shortly, tired of talking to the boy.

Before the boy could retort, Madam Malkin told Harry he was done, and he wasted no time in paying for his robes and leaving the store without haste. He met up with his dad outside Flourish and Blotts, where he was standing with his mum and Nym, who were both holding elegant shopping bags with the Morgana's Secret label on them. They quickly entered the bookstore.

Inside, the bookstore was a madhouse. Children filled up the aisles, with harried parents weaving through the crowds trying to hold on to the books they were carrying. Nym grabbed Harry's booklist from Lily and led the way. She elbowed and charmed her way through the mass of people, quickly finding the books they needed. Nym and Harry left their books with James and Lily to pay for them, while they went across the street for ice cream. By the time they had reached the front of the line and were paying for the books, rumblings were passing through the store that Harry Potter had been seen in Diagon Alley earlier. Lily and James shared a nervous look and bolted from Flourish and Blotts as soon as they had paid, heading in the direction of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

They found Harry and Nym at a table, sharing an ice cream sundae, Nym's arm around Harry to help shield him from passing eyes. "I didn't realize you were into older girls, Harry," James said as he and Lily approached the two. Harry just rolled his eyes and ate another scoop of ice cream while Nym stuck out her tongue at James.

Lily slapped her husband on the arm. "Like you Marauders didn't spend an inordinate amount of time at the Three Broomsticks during Hogsmeade trips."

"Cut me some slack, Lily," James said, a slightly affronted look on his face. "What normal growing boy wouldn't be attracted to Rosmerta? It didn't hurt that she was only a few years out of Hogwarts when she started. She must've graduated right before we started there."

"Yes, well, hopefully our son can behave better than you did once he reaches Hogwarts. Why do I have the feeling I'll be in constant contact with Minerva this year?" Lily bent down and sneaked a bite of their sundae.

"Well, let's finish up. I definitely feel like people are starting to look around more now that word that Harry is around got out. How about you take Harry to Ollivander's, Lily? I'll need Nym's help with something." James winked at Harry before motioning for Nym to join him.

Nym just shrugged her shoulders at Harry and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Go get an awesome wand, Harry and don't worry about it. You'll love what we get."

A few minutes later, Lily and Harry entered a narrow and shabby shop near the end of Diagon Alley. It was a tiny room filled with thousands of narrow boxes piled upon one another, right to the top of the ceiling. An old man appeared from within one of the aisles and approached the mother and son.

"Hello, Ollivander. We're here for Harry to get his wand," Lily said, greeting the man.

"Ah yes, Mrs. Potter. I remember when you came here for your own wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy and made of willow. Still in good shape I hope? Let us see if dear Harry will follow in your footsteps."

Mr. Ollivander proceeded to take some measurements of Harry's right arm and then offered up various wands for him to try. The pile of tried wands continued to grow until Mr. Ollivander got a peculiar look on his face and drew out a wand box that was hidden under a few books. Lily looked nervous but let her son grasp the wand. A stream of red and gold sparks came out from its tip when Harry waved it, signaling a match. Mr. Ollivander congratulated him and began wrapping the wand back up, the whole time muttering, "Curious… very curious."

"Sorry, Sir," said Harry, "but what is curious?"

"Mr. Potter, I happen to remember every wand I've ever sold. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather—just one. It is curious that you are destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar." Mr. Ollivander reached out and pointed at Harry's forehead, right where his scar from Halloween was.

Harry swallowed nervously, and Lily trembled slightly when putting away his wand into their bags.

"I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named achieved great things. Terrible things, yes. But still great." Mr. Ollivander finished just as the Potters left his shop, quite shaken from what he'd just said.

Lily kept Harry close as they walked back down Diagon Alley to the Leaky Cauldron. After a few minutes, James and Nym caught up with them. Nym was carrying a large cage in her arms. It held inside a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing.

"Here you go, Harry," Nym handed the cage over to him. His encounter with the strange old man was now forgotten as he laid his eyes on the lovely owl. "Don't forget to name her."

"Wow, thanks Dad, Nym. I had totally forgotten about getting a pet." Harry said, awed at his family's thoughtfulness.

"And don't you forget it," James said, ruffling his son's hair. "Now, let's head home, I didn't like the look in that shopkeeper's eyes when I bought that owl. I think he recognized me." He put his arm around Lily and started heading towards the brick wall. Nym grabbed Harry's hand and followed behind the couple, as they headed through the archway and into the Leaky Cauldron.


	7. September 1st

Author's Note: Thanks to my beta, Rayvynwood for her work on this chapter and the previous ones.

**Chapter Seven - September 1st**

_Click. Wrrr._

"Don't they look so cute?"

_Click. Wrrr._

"Must we take pictures while they're asleep?"

"Of course, James!" Lily snapped. "This is our son's big day and we'll want to record every bit of it."

"Well, I certainly hope _we_ let our son have some privacy when he gets ready for the day," James said. "I certainly don't want to be privy to any photographs like that."

Lily put down her camera and slapped James's arm in response, eliciting a stuck-out tongue from her husband. Her attention was quickly pulled to the twin seven-year-old girls anxiously shifting from foot to foot at the side of the bed. "Alright, girls. I think your brother has had _quite_ enough rest." The twin sisters gave broad smiles to their mum and proceeded to jump on to the bed, quite enthusiastically.

Harry had been quite contently sleeping; having spent the previous night packing his trunk with the help of his parents. He was shaken awake by the jostling of the mattress. Harry sat straight up, blinking away the sleep as he reached for his glasses. Bonnie was content to mutter under her breath and turn away from the chaos, burrowing deeper into the covers. His vision focused on the two bouncers of his bed, his sisters, Daisy and Rose.

"Good morning, Harry!" the girls shouted.

"Must you do that?" Harry responded, roughly shoving the bedcovers off him and standing up. "I was having a nice dream," he pouted.

"Well, sleepy head, we didn't pack last night just so you could sleep the morning away," said James. "The whole family is going to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters this year."

"Yes, so get ready, dear, breakfast will be ready shortly." Lily gave her son a kiss on the forehead, while James ruffled Harry's hair, adding to the boy's already disheveled appearance.

Harry sighed and turned back to the bed. Seeing Bonnie still asleep, he shared a conspiring glance with his sisters. "Oh, we'll be ready."

As Lily and James were making their way down the hallway, they could hear the surprised shout of a girl and the cavalcade of laughter that followed.

* * *

It was a loud and boisterous group that made their way to King's Cross Station that morning. Andromeda, Lily, and Narcissa stayed near the back of the pack, holding in their arms the youngest of the family, three-year-olds, Orion, Jack, and Artemis. 

"I'm glad everyone decided to go this year," said Narcissa. "This is the first time I've been here since graduation. It's nice to have the chance to appreciate the experience this time around."

"You say that now, Cissy," answered Andromeda, "but once it's time for Artemis to go to Hogwarts, it'll become bittersweet. Dora's about to start her sixth year, and I still miss her as much as I did when it was her first year."

"At least these three will be going in together," said Lily, referring to the children in their arms. "I'm glad Harry has Nym and Daphne to go to at Hogwarts. Not everyone can be as lucky as I was and make best friends right on the Hogwarts Express." She smiled fondly at the two witches next to her.

"I was a Ravenclaw, you know," answered Andromeda smugly. "You reminded me so much of Cissy that I just had to introduce you two. I still don't understand how she didn't land in Ravenclaw."

"Not all intelligent people go to Ravenclaw, Ann. Besides, green looks so good on me that I couldn't resist," Narcissa quipped. The three witches shared a smile before bursting into laughter, drawing looks from the rest of the group.

Over in the middle of the group, Olivia was helping Remus watch over the energetic twins and a sullen Bonnie.

"Uncle Remus, Look at all these Muggles!" exclaimed Daisy.

"Sssh," hissed Remus, "not so loud, Daisy."

"Easy goes it, Remus," replied Olivia, calmly walking beside the two. "Besides I don't think she's the twin you should be worrying about." She nodded in the direction of a group of young Muggle girls standing by a ticket booth. Amongst them was Rose, enthusiastically chatting with a girl holding a puppy. Remus quickly walked in that direction, pointedly avoiding looking at Olivia, quite sure that she was amused at the situation from the giggles he could faintly hear.

At the front, Harry, Nym and Daphne were being led by James and Sirius, who were expertly guiding the trunks of the three students through the crowd. Nym chewed on a piece of bubblegum impatiently, brushing her hand through her Muggle-safe long black hair. Daphne's head was on a constant swivel, from watching in amusement at the fashions of Muggles, to glancing at her mum behind her. This was going to be the first extended period of time in her life that they'd be apart. Harry was quite content to fiddle with the object in his hands, a Golden Snitch that he got from his dad and the Marauders for his eleventh birthday. Completely taken up with his toy, Harry was caught off guard when it was snatched from his hands abruptly.

"So this is what has your attention Harry?" asked Nym, holding up the struggling Snitch to the light. "You've been obsessed with it since you got it, although I think you need more practice if I can take it from you so easily."

"Give it back, Nym!" said Harry, trying to grab the Snitch from her hands. "Seekers just catch Snitches; they don't have to wrestle it out of the other's grip. Besides there's Muggles everywhere, Mum will kill me if she sees it out in the open."

"Not my problem," taunted Nym, sticking out her tongue at Harry. She looked around and noticed that no one was paying any attention to them. 'Dad probably thinks I'll be the responsible one since I'm sixteen,' thought Nym, smirking at the opportunity thrust upon her. "Catch me if you can, Harry!" Nym tightened her grip around the Snitch and leapt over a guard rail, disappearing into the crowd.

"You're on!" shouted Harry, sparing a glance at Daphne before leaping over the same guard rail and running in the direction Nym went.

Daphne looked around nervously, and much to her relief, Sirius Black and James Potter were in deep conversation, not noticing the absence of their children. She shrugged to herself before she slid between the guard rail swiftly, taking care to keep her outfit clean. "Wait for me, Harry!" shouted Daphne, going in the direction of the other two.

Nym had gotten out to a significant lead, when she ran into a large line waiting to board a nearby train. She saw Harry's raven-haired head bobbing up and down behind her getting closer to her location. She turned a corner and slid past a sign marked 'Platform 9b', only to catch her foot on an abandoned cart and stumble through the magical barrier. Nym's fall was halted by two pairs of arms. Looking up, she noticed she had come to a stop behind a family of redheaded wizards. Two identical boys from the family had noticed Nym's arrival and were holding her up.

"Nym! Fancy meeting you here!" exclaimed the twin on the right.

"I'm going to have to pay Charlie those Sickles. I was so sure she'd show up Weasley-red," the other twin replied, lightly tugging on Nym's black hair.

"Fred, George," Nym greeted, slapping away George's hand. "If you didn't remember, little Harry is joining us at Hogwarts this year, and I thought it was appropriate to go black."

"Ah, and where is the little bugger?" asked Fred, looking behind Nym for any sign of family.

"Yeah, Nym. How'd you lose the family? Maybe you could give us some tips?" questioned Fred. "We've tried to lose ickle Ronniekins a few times over the years, but he always found his way back."

"Long story, guys. So is that Charlie's replacement?" asked Nym, looking at the back of the head of the youngest Weasley boy.

"Yes," nodded George sadly, "right there between mum and Ginny. We lose Charlie to Romania and we gain the Cannons fanatic."

"Can't stop talking about them," said Fred. "Don't even know why he likes them. He's an oddball like Percy."

"Like Ginny too," added George. "She spent all morning talking about how she'll finally get to meet _Harry_."

"That girl needs to get her priorities straight," said Fred, shaking his head.

"Oh, I think she's got her priorities in order," said Nym, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she felt the fluttering of Harry's Snitch in her jeans pocket.

"Hello, dear," Molly Weasley greeted Nym, finally noticing the teen's arrival. "Where is your family? Is bringing Harry difficult? I so wanted to see him again." A small squeak came from Molly's side and Nym grinned at the young girl.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. No trouble at all, I just ran ahead from the rest of the group. In fact…" Nym turned and looked at the crowds to see Harry with Daphne a few feet behind him, running in her direction. She reached into her pocket and removed the Snitch. "Here he comes right now."

"Nym! Our dads are going to get it when they notice we're gone," Harry exclaimed as he reached Nym's location next to the Weasleys. "Now, give me that--" He lunged for the Snitch Nym had in her hand, only to have her pull it out of his reach. Out of balance he collided with Ginny Weasley and they fell to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.

"I always…catch the…Snitch," Harry said trying to catch his breath from the fall.

"Oh, you caught something all right, Harry," answered Nym, a smirk tugging at her lips. "She may be small but she isn't a Snitch, flyboy."

Harry took the opportunity to look at who he had collided with. With his glasses askew, all he could see was a mass of red hair on top of him, but as he brushed aside the hair he saw an extremely flushed, teary-eyed, girl. As he tried to untangle himself with her, Ginny took the opportunity to punch him hard in the arm. "Ow!" Harry exclaimed, "I'm sorry I ran into you but you didn't have to hit me!"

Harry's protestation brought the incident to Molly's attention. She quickly rushed over and helped Ginny off of Harry. "Oh you dears," Molly said, brushing dirt off Ginny's dress, "this isn't the place to roughhouse. Too many Muggles about."

Seeing Harry from a few feet away, seemed to bring some recognition to Ginny. Her glare that had been fixed on him quickly turned to a wide-eyed, frightened look and she paled considerably. It didn't help that Fred and George were snickering pretty loudly at the turn of events. Ginny's flush returned in full force and she quickly hid behind her mother.

Harry didn't notice as at that moment, a harried looking James Potter and Sirius Black came through the barrier leading the rest of the family behind them. "There you three are!" James exclaimed, putting down the trunk he was holding, "Well, at least you made it here. We're already cutting it close as it is."

"Molly, boys, Ginny, pleasure to see you all," said Sirius charmingly. "Since Harry and Daphne," he nodded towards the brown-haired girl who was currently hugging her mother, "are both joining Nymmy at Hogwarts this year, the whole family decided to come."

"How wonderful! Arthur will be upset to have missed this. We haven't seen everyone since Ginny's first birthday," Molly said, delivering out hugs to the whole family.

"Well, let's get these trunks aboard, and you children say goodbye to your mums," said James, motioning for Percy, Fred and George to help the Marauders out. Harry's gaze followed their progress until it stopped at their destination, the Hogwarts Express. The breathtaking, scarlet steam engine distracted Harry, enabling him to be grabbed and put through the whole family goodbye line.

"It feels like just yesterday you were running into your dad's office and meeting me for the first time, Harry," said Olivia, smoothing out his shirt collar. "You watch out for Daphne, alright?"

"Yes, Ms. Greengrass," answered Harry jovially. "Daphne's one of my best friends. Even if we're in different houses we'll always be friends."

Harry was then embraced warmly by his Aunt Narcissa. "Don't do anything reckless, Harry," warned Narcissa. "Learn from my niece's mistakes. If you have to do anything, don't get _caught_." She gave him a sly wink and kiss on the cheek before passing him on down the line.

"Don't worry about writing letters for Potter Black, dear," Andromeda said, giving Harry a hug and a kiss on the forehead, "being at Hogwarts is your time away from all those responsibilities and you just be yourself. Keep your family informed though!"

"I will, Aunt Andromeda," confirmed Harry, just before he was met by his sisters, Daisy and Rose. "Even though I'm off to Hogwarts, I expect to hear that you two are messing with Uncle Sirius, alright?"

"Never doubt us, Harry," they chimed together. "We'll keep things busy while you're away. We'll miss you, big brother." Daisy and Rose gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged Harry strongly. They were joined by another set of arms, belonging to Harry's mum, Lily Potter.

"Oh, Harry, you'll have so much fun," said Lily, holding Harry and the girls close to her. "Make sure to write, young man. The girls and I will miss you. We all love you." She left a kiss on his head before releasing him from the embrace. "And don't get into too much trouble, Harry. If I find out your father gave you any of his toys to cause mischief, he won't know what's coming to him."

"Don't worry, mum," said Harry, relieved to have made it to the end of the line. "We Potters are a slippery lot. Love you." He made his way over to where Nym was talking very quietly to her sister, Bonnie. Nym greeted Harry with a grim smile, while Bonnie stared straight ahead, not acknowledging him.

"Well, Bonnie, I guess this is it," started Harry, throwing his arm around the girl's shoulder. "Hopefully Hogwarts won't be completely terrible without you. You can keep my Snitch while I'm gone; I doubt I'd have much use for it at Hogwarts this year. And make sure our dads don't get too comfortable with both me and Nym away."

Bonnie finally turned to face Harry, her eyes shining with gratitude at his kind words. Harry noticed her change of mood and resigned himself to being hugged by another crying female. Bonnie hugged him before stepping back and slugging Harry in the arm.

"Ow!" yelped Harry, rubbing his sore arm. "Looks like you're feeling better already. What is with girls today and hitting my arm?"

"Speaking of abusive girls, Harry," said Nym, "what are you going to do about her?"

"Yeah, Harry," agreed Bonnie, "not exactly the way I'd want to meet my crush."

Harry turned around to look closely at the red-haired girl he had run into hiding behind Molly Weasley. "That was _Ginny_?" he asked incredulously, "I didn't realize you were standing next to the Weasleys!"

"I was, and now you're going to at least say goodbye to her. She was looking forward to seeing you, Harry." Nym grabbed Harry's arm and with the help of Bonnie, they led him over to where Ginny was hiding.

"Uh…hi," said Harry, laughing nervously at the awkward situation.

Ginny turned to the trio and blinked owlishly at Harry, a flush growing on her cheeks.

Harry continued on, looking into her soft brown eyes. "I wanted to say I'm sorry about running into you and just leaving like that. You didn't say in your last owl that you'd be here at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

The Hogwarts Express whistle blew at that moment, signifying five minutes until departure from the station. Nym and Bonnie nudged Harry to finish up and said polite goodbyes to Ginny, leaving the two alone for a moment.

"If I'd known, I would've brought something more, but," Harry said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small bag of Chocolate Frogs, handing them to Ginny. "Here. I was going to eat them on the train, but I think I'd rather you have them. I have to run. See you, Ginny."

Ginny held the bag of Chocolate Frogs close to her chest as Harry started to jog towards his dad at one of the train entrances. Molly, having seen the interaction between her daughter and Harry, gave Ginny a slight nudge and nodded in the young wizard's direction. "Th-Thank you!" the girl shouted, causing Harry to turn around towards her. He gave her a smile and waved before entering the Hogwarts Express.

Harry stepped onto the train, and met up with a flustered Daphne waiting in the train corridor. "Did you have fun running through Muggles and saying goodbye to your _friend_?" Daphne asked haughtily.

"Come off it, Daphne," said Harry, throwing his arm around her shoulder. Daphne leant into his embrace, a slight blush on her cheeks. "You don't even know her; she's very nice in her letters."

"I bet she is," muttered Daphne.

"Aw, you're just sore that I took off after Nym without waiting for you. I wish you'd get over aversion to Muggles. They're just like us, just without magic," said Harry, leading the two of them into an empty compartment.

"Yes, well that _magic_ part is pretty important to us and the wizarding world," Daphne said, sitting down by the window in a huff.

Harry just rolled his eyes and sat across from her, playfully setting his feet on Daphne's lap. She stuck out her tongue at Harry and tossed his feet off her lap, causing him to be off balance and fall sideways in his seat. Harry jumped onto her and they started tickling each other, giggling and laughing loud enough to be heard in several compartments down either way.

* * *

A few hours into the trip towards Hogwarts, Harry and Daphne had calmed down, changed into their school robes and were currently eating some Cauldron Cakes they'd bought from the tea trolley witch. The compartment door opened and Nym stuck her head in. 

"Hey you two, I wondered where you had gone," Nym said, stepping fully into the compartment leading a young girl with blonde pigtails behind her. "I'd like you to meet Hannah Abbott," Nym put her hand behind the girl and pushed her in front of her. "She was about to be victimized by Fred and George. Percy stopped them and asked me if I'd introduce Hannah to you two, and I said I would."

Nym led Hannah to the seat right next to Daphne, while she plopped herself down into the seat next to Harry. "Hannah Abbott, meet Daphne Greengrass and Harry Potter. Harry, Daphne, meet fellow first year, Hannah Abbott."

Hannah's eyes widened at the introduction of the boy across from her. "H-hello," she stammered. "It's nice to meet all of you." She smiled shyly at Harry and held her hand out to Daphne.

"It would be nice to have another girl around since Bonnie won't be here this year," Daphne admitted reluctantly, lightly shaking Hannah's hand and offering the girl a small smile.

"And I'm just Harry. I think you'll find quickly that I'm just like any other boy," Harry assured the girl. "Cauldron Cake?"

Nym left the compartment shortly after to join her friends and the three students spent the rest of the trip finishing off their snacks and exchanging stories of their home life. They were only interrupted once more, by a bushy-haired brunette first year named Hermione Granger. She had been looking for a boy's toad, and once it was found not to be in the compartment, she politely said goodbye and continued on her search.

By the time the train arrived in Hogsmeade, they were well on their way to being good friends. They joined up with the rest of the first year students in following an extremely large man towards a group of boats sitting on the shore of a gigantic lake. Harry, Daphne and Hannah were joined by another blonde girl in one of the boats. As they floated along the lake, Harry joined the others in gaping at the site of the illustrious Hogwarts Castle, their home away from home for the next seven years.

Once they were led up stone steps to a doorway, the giant man knocked on it and waited for a response. He noticed Harry standing near the front left in the group of first years and walked over to him with a smile.

"Hello, Harry," greeted the man, "I don't know if you remember me, but the name's Rubeus Hagrid. I'm the Keeper of Keys and Groundskeeper here at Hogwarts, and I was a friend of your dad."

"Oh, hello," answered Harry, "these are my friends, Daphne Greengrass and Hannah Abbott. I'm afraid I don't remember you, what with all the trips I've taken with my family, but if you were a friend of my dad, then I know we'll get along famously." Harry exchanged grins with the giant man. Daphne rolled her eyes, while Hannah smiled at Harry's charm.

Hagrid was called away from the three when the doors opened and a stern-looking witch approached the first years. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and led the group through the doors and into a giant hall where four long tables stood lined with students and one that spanned the width of the room held the teachers. Harry noticed Daphne and Hannah looking up, and joined them, seeing the ceiling of the hall, which had an enchantment over it to make it look like the night sky.

The bushy-haired girl from the train could be heard from further down. "This is the Great Hall. I read in _Hogwarts, A History_ that the ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky outside."

"Harry?" Harry turned to see the youngest Weasley boy right next to him. "Um, I'm Ron; we played together a bit when we were babies."

"Oh, hi Ron," answered Harry, "I didn't see you earlier or I would've said hello."

"It's alright, I was stuck listening to my brother Percy for most of the time, although there was this fun moment on the train, where Fred and George were about to prank this girl…" Ron stopped when he noticed the reddening face of Hannah.

Harry gave Hannah's arm a little squeeze. "Well, I think the Sorting is about to start," he said, changing the subject. "So I guess, I'll see you around, Ron?"

Ron gave a weird look at Daphne and Hannah, wondering why Harry would want to hang around girls. "Yeah, maybe we'll both be Gryffindors!" Harry gave Ron a smile and turned his attention back to what was happening.

Once the group reached the front of the hall, near the teacher's table, Professor McGonagall placed a wooden stool and an old-looking wizard's hat in front of the first year students. They were all shocked when the Hat broke into song.

Once the impromptu song was finished, Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "Once I call your name, you will sit on this stool and put on the hat to be Sorted," she indicated, "Abbott, Hannah."

Hannah gulped nervously, exchanged shaky smiles with Harry and stumbled over to the stool. She put on the Hat, which fell down over her eyes, and sat down.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat, and Harry watched as a beaming Hannah removed the hat and walked over to the cheering table on the right and sat down next to an enthusiastic Nym, waving shyly at the merry ghost of Hufflepuff, the Fat Friar.

"Granger, Hermione!" The bushy-haired girl broke free from the group and ran over to the stool, jamming the Hat over her head eagerly.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat, and Ron let out a groan. Harry nudged him in the ribs to quiet down, before returning his attention just in time to hear his friend called.

"Greengrass, Daphne." Daphne let go of the fierce grip she had on Harry's shoulder, and nodded to herself before calmly strolling up to the stool and laying the Hat gently on her head.

"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat, and a smirking Daphne removed the Hat, and walked over to the Slytherin table, winking at Harry as she passed him.

Harry was now at a crossroads of what house he wanted to belong to. Nym and his new friend, Hannah, were both in Hufflepuff. His best friend, Daphne, was Sorted into Slytherin, but that house seemed to have a few seedy-looking students, including that blonde boy he had met at Madam Malkin's.

"Potter, Harry." Harry shook himself from his thoughts, and walked towards the stool. The entire hall was stunned by his presence and whispers broke out throughout each table. Students were all stretching and leaning from their seats, trying to get a view of him.

He placed the Hat on his head and waited. For what, he'd soon find out. "A Potter? Hmm, I'd wondered when I'd see you here," said a small voice, "Difficult decision. Plenty of cunning and courage, I see. Interesting mix. Fiercely loyal, and a mind to go with it…Now where to put you?"

Harry shifted in his seat and thought, 'A place I can be myself.'

"Be yourself, eh?" said the small voice. "Your mother said the same thing when I Sorted her. Others expected you elsewhere, to help your way to greatness. But if you're sure…RAVENCLAW!" The last word was shouted out to the Great Hall, bringing the whole hall into silence.

Harry calmly removed his hat and walked nervously over to the Ravenclaw table. He shrugged at a stunned Ron, and loud cheers erupted from the Ravenclaws. The other tables soon joined in, led by Hannah, Nym and Daphne.

He was motioned over by an older Ravenclaw girl, and he moved to sit down next to her.

"Hi, Harry," said the older girl, smiling at him and patting his hand on the table. "My name is Penelope Clearwater, and I'm a Ravenclaw Prefect. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me."

Harry smiled back, "Thank you," he said to Penelope. He exchanged nods with Hannah and Nym sitting behind him, and Daphne who was sitting at the table across from him. They might not have been Sorted together, but they'd stay friends, Harry would make sure of it. But for now, he just needed to get used to being in Ravenclaw. The only thing keeping the night from being perfect was that Bonnie wasn't there to enjoy it with him.


	8. The First Week

Author's Note: Thanks to my beta Rayvynwood; Harry's Sorting into Ravenclaw necessitated the shuffling of class attendance so that I'd still get him exposed to other houses. Herbology & Transfiguration is with Gryffindor, Charms & History of Magic is with Slytherin, Defense & Potions is with Hufflepuff, Astronomy and Flying Lessons (not in this chapter) have been widened to all houses.**  
**

**Chapter Eight - The First Week**

Harry didn't know it, but Hogwarts was turned upside down by his arrival and subsequent Sorting into the Ravenclaw House. Throughout the rest of the Welcoming Feast, almost every student would lean and stretch in their seats, trying to catch a glimpse of the newest Ravenclaw. The professors didn't seem to escape the mystery of Harry either; each one cast a glance at him when he set his gaze at their table. The Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, who was wearing a colorful set of purple robes, just smiled at Harry with twinkling eyes over crescent-shaped glasses when Harry looked his way.

One professor in particular, with greasy black hair and a hooked nose, was glaring at Harry with such intensity that Harry could only come to the conclusion that this was Snape. He didn't spend much time thinking about the wizard because Harry began to experience a mild headache. Returning his wandering gaze to his plate, Harry leaned his head on Penelope's shoulder, surprising the girl.

"Feeling okay, Harry?" asked the concerned Penelope, patting his hand.

"Ugh," moaned Harry, "I think I have a headache." He reached up and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

Penelope frowned before reaching towards the middle of the table for a pitcher of pumpkin juice. "Here, take a drink and relax, we'll be heading to the common room shortly," she said, handing him a goblet full of the liquid.

Harry shakily grabbed the goblet with both hands and took a few sips. The cool juice felt wonderful going down his throat as he swallowed. He put down the goblet on the table and returned his head to Penelope's shoulder. "This is nice," he yawned.

Penelope shook her head in amusement, "I'm glad I could be your pillow, Harry."

Awhile later, Professor Dumbledore dismissed the tired students to their rooms for the night. Standing up from the table, Harry looked for his friends. He caught a glimpse of Daphne at her table, but she could only shrug back at him as she was rounded up with the rest of her house's first years by a Slytherin prefect and led away from the Great Hall. Harry did have more luck with Nym and Hannah since the Hufflepuff table was right behind his seat.

"Congrats, Harry," exclaimed Nym, enveloping him in a bear hug. "I totally didn't see the whole Ravenclaw angle coming. I was so sure you were pegged to be a Gryffindor like our dads."

"Well," said Harry, receiving a brief hug from Hannah as well, "I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think I've landed with a pretty good bunch, despite the lack of you girls. Penelope's been really nice and she's offered to help me out if I need it."

"That's great, Harry," said Hannah, "I'm a little worried about Daphne though. We lucked out having someone to look up to in our house but she's pretty much going in blind."

Harry looked at Nym to see what she thought, but she could only shrug. "I don't think we have to worry about Daphne," said Harry, cracking a smirk. "She's a pretty conniving witch and that was even before she had a wand. But it won't hurt to keep a look out."

"That's probably the best thing about you not being in Gryffindor, Harry," replied Nym, looking near the doors of the Great Hall where a confrontation seemed to be happening between Ron Weasley and that blonde Slytherin first year Harry met at Diagon Alley. "The rivalry between that house and Slytherin is legendary and quite intense. It would've been extremely difficult to stay friendly with Daphne openly in these halls."

"Thankfully, he's a Ravenclaw," said Penelope, entered the conversation, smiling broadly and patting Harry on the shoulder. "Speaking of, Harry, we need to get going, or we're going to be left behind."

Harry said his goodbyes to Nym and Hannah and set out of the Great Hall with Penelope. Trying to catch up with the other members of their house, Harry and Penelope hurried through the halls, occasionally knocking down a random suit of armor in the process, which would result in the two of them scampering down the nearest hallway to escape the wrath of the Hogwarts caretaker, Mr. Filch, giggling along the way. It was much later when they finally reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room inside Ravenclaw Tower.

"Wow," exclaimed Penelope, leaning against the portrait entrance trying to catch her breath. "I haven't had that much fun in awhile, and certainly not just on the walk to the common room."

"Well, I'm sure you'll have more opportunities now that I'm around," said Harry grinning, "This place is so huge, the possibilities are endless. I don't know how anyone can get work done here."

"And you got sorted into Ravenclaw?" remarked Penelope, earning a stuck-out tongue from Harry. "Just you wait Harry; you'll get used to this place, and will actually look forward to your studies." She gave him a wink and threw her arm over his shoulder.

In front of them stood a large solitary portrait of a regal sort of horse-man gazing up at the painted night sky; it was later revealed to Harry that the portrait guardian for Ravenclaw was a centaur. They approached the portrait and once she could get the guardian's attention, Penelope delivered the password: wise eagle. The guardian nodded and the portrait slid open revealing a square entrance in the wall.

Stepping through the passageway into the common room, Harry took a moment to revel in his new habitat for the next seven years. The room itself was quite large and almost was divided into two sections, the wall a few feet down from the entrance came out into the room to reveal a fireplace. It was almost like a round bump, giving the room the shape of a kidney bean. The area immediately surrounding the entrance consisted of a very contemporary set of curvy sectionals and simple sofas in blue tints. Decorative tapestries showing off the Ravenclaw shield and other unique designs hung on the stone walls above waist-high bronze and chrome bookshelves that lined the walls in the area around its two bay windows.

In the other area of the common room, the bookshelves grew in size, covering most of the stone wall. Unlike the windows in the casual area, the windows here were not very wide, but let in a lot of natural light with it running nearly the entire length of the wall towards the ceiling. Bronze and chrome also featured prominently in the simple desks and chairs littered throughout the study area, as well in the wall sconces and simple chandeliers holding unlit candles.

Due to the lateness of the night, the only sounds of the room where the two Ravenclaws, and the only light was from the moon shining through the windows and the flickering embers in the fireplace. Across from the fireplace were a set of stairs leading to the dorm corridors encircling the tower. However, they couldn't make their way to bed as they were brought to abrupt halt at the sudden presence of a short older wizard standing patiently in front the fireplace.

"Pro-professor Flitwick," stammered Penelope, her face reddening in embarrassment, "I'm sorry we're late, I was leading Harry here and we got a bit sidetracked with showing him where things were."

"It's my fault, Professor," added Harry, "I didn't think there was any problem with taking the _scenic_ route."

"Well, Mr. Potter, it's quite admirable to step up for your friend, but Miss Clearwater should know better; she is a Prefect," answered Professor Flitwick. "However, I do find myself dawdling around the halls every now and then, so I think I'll just bid you two good night. Remember, Mr. Potter, there are curfews here at Hogwarts. Keep in mind what the Headmaster said at the Welcome Feast; stay clear of the third floor corridor." And with a smile, the diminutive Head of House bid Harry and Penelope goodbye.

Harry let out a sigh and was about to flop onto a nearby armchair when he was stopped by Penelope.

"No you don't, Harry," said Penelope, suddenly looking very tired. "We are lucky to have such a wonderful Head of House, if that was anyone else we would have been looking at detention at the least. Now off to bed."

She led Harry up the stairway and down a corridor before stopping next to a door that said "First Year Boys" on it. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Harry. It's been fun." Penelope turned back towards the stairs when she was stopped by a pair of arms throwing themselves around her.

"Thanks for everything, Penelope," said Harry, slowly releasing his hold. "It's a lot less scary when you have a friend with you."

"Don't mention it," answered Penelope, ruffling Harry's hair, "and don't worry, you'll be making plenty of friends. Now get to sleep, mister. Don't make me get tough." She playfully put her hands on her hips, before lightly shoving Harry towards his door.

Harry entered his dorm room to find it almost completely dark, save for the light coming through the windows. He made his way to where his trunk was, beside the only four poster bed that didn't have its hangings shut. Changing into his pajamas and slipping under the sheets of his bed, Harry closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of his family and best friend back at home.

* * *

Unfortunately for Harry, ignoring his fellow dorm mates at the Welcoming Feast and coming in late after everyone was asleep didn't help his popularity with them, as they left for breakfast in the Great Hall without waking Harry. Blissfully unaware of the time, Harry slept through breakfast. Reality hit, when Harry was shaken awake by a harried-looking Penelope. 

"Harry!" exclaimed Penelope. "What are you doing still in bed? Classes start in fifteen minutes." She dropped her book bag on Harry's bed and began to rummage through his trunk.

"Wha…?" Harry said sleepily. "I didn't think I'd need an alarm, I figured I'd wake up when the other guys did." He got out of bed and stretched before snatching up a piece of parchment from his night table.

"That's your class schedule, Harry," answered Penelope, placing a change of clothes and Harry's book bag on his bed. "I asked Professor Flitwick for it when you didn't show up for breakfast. You're lucky you have Charms first thing. Now hurry off and wash up. I'll tell Flitwick that you're running a little late; it's on my way to Defense class. Good luck." And in a whirlwind, Penelope gave Harry a kiss on the cheek, picked up her book bag and was out the door before Harry could blink.

Harry was out of breath by the time he made it to the doorway of the Charms classroom. He leaned on the door jamb before taking a deep breath and confidently strolling into class a good ten minutes late. He spied the nearest open chair and quickly sat down.

"Glad to see you're joining us, Mr. Potter," said Professor Flitwick, having stopped mid-lesson to greet Harry. "Take out your wand and find out from a classmate what you missed. Let us hope you are more timely in your endeavors from now on." A few snickers rang out from the boys in the classroom, not only from Ravenclaw, but also from Slytherin who were attending the class as well. Harry blushed brightly and nodded to his Head of House. Flitwick then turned his attention to the whole class and continued on about the aspects of Charms that the class would cover during the year.

Once the class had been assigned a practical exercise, Harry took the opportunity to look around the classroom. Despite having to share the class with Slytherins, it seemed like the students were fairly spread out between the two houses. The steadfast ones were clumped together, like that rowdy group of Slytherins on the other side of the room from Harry; all the activity seemed to be centered on the blond boy he'd had the run-in with at Madam Malkin's. Quite a few times, Professor Flitwick had to come over to that group to oversee their progress, but once he left the area they went back to their chatting.

Harry was about to start himself, when he felt something hit the back of his head, and heard girlish giggling coming from behind him. He looked down and saw a small piece of parchment, in the roughly shaped like an owl, blinking up at him. Harry reached down and opened the altered piece of parchment to read:

_Behind you, silly._

_Why were you late?_

_- D_

Harry crumpled the paper up and turned around to find Daphne Greengrass smirking down at him from the row right behind him. She was surrounded by a few girls from Slytherin and Ravenclaw, all who were giggling at the dumbfounded look on Harry's face.

"Daphne?" said Harry, a smile rising to his lips. "I was in such a rush to get to class that I didn't think about you being in it!"

"We could see that, with your little entrance, Harry," answered Daphne, motioning the girls to quiet down. "How come you were late?"

"Oh, that," said Harry, reaching back to rub his neck, "well, I was late getting into the common room last night and didn't meet anyone outside of Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw Prefect, so when it was morning none of the guys bothered with me and I overslept." A slight frown came over his face, "I don't think I've been very accessible to my housemates."

"Nonsense, Harry," replied Daphne. "This is what? The second day of school? You can hardly be expected to suddenly become mates."

"Yeah, Harry," added in a Ravenclaw girl with long dark hair from Daphne's left side. "Don't fret about it, I met most of them last night in the common room, and they didn't seem to care either way. Not real sociable at first either. It certainly was a difference from being around my sister."

"I'm Harry Potter by the way, but I think you already know that," Harry smiled at the girl. "What's your name?"

"Ugh," exclaimed Daphne, "where are my manners today? I'm not being a good new friend, am I? Okay, this is Padma," she said pointing at the Ravenclaw girl Harry had asked. "And this is Tracy, Pansy, Mandy, and Lisa." Daphne finished going around the surrounding area.

The rest of the class went very quickly for Harry and his friends. Professor Flitwick started instructing them on the techniques of _Wingardium Leviosa_, a levitation charm, emphasizing the 'swish and flick' aspects of the wand movement. No one succeeded in performing the spell that first day, but Harry was sure his feather had twitched a bit. Daphne had no more luck; her feather hadn't moved, but the edges were burnt.

The elation from the fun Charms class lasted until Harry made it to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Upon entering the classroom, Harry was hit with a heavy aroma of garlic, so strong it stung his eyes. Sharing this class with Hufflepuff, Harry quickly found a seat next to Hannah. After greeting her, Harry was brought into the conversation she was having with the boy in front of her, Ernie Macmillan. Ernie was mentioning the rumors going around about the Defense professor, that the garlic was being used to keep away a vampire he'd run into in Romania and feared would return for him.

The actual class didn't get much better. Once Professor Quirrell mentioned that he was wearing a turban given to him from an African Prince for disposing of a zombie, Terry Boot, one of Harry's dorm mates, asked if he'd tell the class how he did it. Quirrell stumbled through a response, changing the topic in mid-stream to the weather, disappointing the eager class.

Astronomy was entertaining since it took place in the Astronomy Tower every Wednesday at midnight. The view overlooking the grounds of Hogwarts was breathtaking; Harry would swear he even saw a centaur moving about in the Forbidden Forest from his seat. It was open to all the first years, so Harry ended up sitting by Hannah and Daphne. Professor Sinistra explained that they would learn the names of stars and constellations and the movement of planets in the class.

When Harry went out to the greenhouses behind the castle for Herbology, he sat with Ron since the class was with Gryffindor. It was taught by Professor Sprout, a stout little witch who was the Head of House for Hufflepuff. This was a class where they'd be getting down and dirty, which seemed to cause some uneasiness with two of the Gryffindor girls, one which Harry noticed was Padma's twin sister. The only other Gryffindor girl in the class, Hermione, seemed to have an opposite reaction as she was attentively writing down exactly what Professor Sprout was saying. Harry could only shrug when Ron muttered on about how annoyingly studious the Granger girl was.

As active as Herbology was, History of Magic was dull. It was such a boring class, it was taught by a ghost. The tale was that Professor Binns had fallen asleep one day, and gotten up the next day to teach, without his body. This was pretty interesting for Harry, since he loved distractions, but once Binns began to sprout off obscure dates and names like Emeric the Evil, Harry's interest waned.

When Friday finally arrived, Harry had just two classes left to attend for the first time, Transfiguration and Potions. He also had finally gotten to know his dorm mates, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Stephen Cornfoot, Kevin Entwhistle and Michael Corner. Terry had been the friendliest and most accepting of Harry's belated overtures, while Corner seemed to have taken offense and would regularly ignore Harry. The atmosphere in the dorm was at least well enough that the others would make sure Harry didn't oversleep, which allowed him the time to get a big breakfast that morning.

"What do you have today, Harry?" asked Nym as she flopped herself down on the bench next to Harry, stealing a sausage from his plate.

"Transfiguration with the Gryffindors and Potions with Hufflepuff," stated Harry automatically from memory.

"Ouch," Nym grimaced, "Well at least you don't get Snape first thing and not with the Slytherins. The favoritism going on there is maddening."

"And it doesn't help that whenever I have class with Slytherin there's this blonde boy who is always sneering at me," said Harry, waving his spoon around.

This got Nym's attention. She lowered her head in close to Harry's. "I'd count your lucky stars that you haven't had a run-in with him yet, I've been hearing about Draco from the first year Hufflepuffs. He also happens to be a Malfoy, and my cousin."

Harry's spoon clattered noisily to the table. "You mean his mum is Aunt Narcissa?"

"Only by birth. I gather he's a clone of his father, with how nasty he's been and this being only the first week. My dad warned me that there was a possibility of him being here this year. I guess Durmstrang wasn't good enough for their tastes," Nym finished bitterly.

Right then, the mail arrived. As had become routine, Harry would receive a letter every morning from either Hedwig or one of the family owls written by someone at the estate. Today was no different, as Hedwig calmly landed in front of Harry and Nym. Harry relieved Hedwig of the note on her leg, while Nym fed her a piece of toast. Unfolding the letter, it read:

_Harry,_

_I hear from your dad that you haven't had Snape yet. Well I consider this good timing because I wanted to tell you: don't take any gruff from that git. Also, what's up with no letters telling us you've gotten in trouble for pranking, Harry? The first week is almost up. Get to it! Just because you got Sorted into Ravenclaw like your mum, don't forget it's in your blood. You've got the Marauder legacy to uphold! Prank people, prank Snape, anyone. Get Nym to help you. And then write back in detail. I'll have to live vicariously through you since your mum and aunts have forbidden me from pranking the girls while you're gone. So unfair, I say!_

_Love from everyone._

_Your favorite godfather,_

_Sirius_

Harry and Nym shared a good laugh and finished off their breakfast before heading to their respective classes. Arriving at the Transfiguration classroom, Harry found a seat next to Ron and started talking about the latest issue of _Which Broomstick_. A few minutes later, the class had filled up, yet the professor was no where in sight.

"I wonder where Professor McGonagall is?" questioned Hermione Granger, who was seated right in front of Ron and Harry.

"Bet you can't wait to start class work, bookworm," Ron retorted angrily, causing Hermione to turn red and dip her head back into a book.

Harry elbowed Ron. "She's asking a good question, Ron; it's five minutes into class."

"Well, all I can say is good for me!" exclaimed a late-arriving Gryffindor boy, sliding into a seat in the front where a cat was lying on the desk.

The cat leapt into the air, transforming into Professor McGonagall, who Harry recognized from the Welcoming Feast. "Mr. Finnigan, unfortunately bad for you," she remarked, straightening her glasses and focusing on the shocked boy. "Perhaps I should transfigure you into a clock so you would arrive in a more timely fashion. Detention with Mr. Filch this weekend, I expect more out of a Gryffindor, Mr. Finnigan."

"I think I'm glad she's not my Head of House," whispered Harry to Ron.

"I heard that, Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall, turning her attention to Harry and giving him a wry smile. "Have no fear; I expect a lot out of all of my students, regardless of house. Let us hope you take after your mother, or I have a feeling you'll be seeing quite a bit of me, in detention."

Harry gulped and nodded, shoving the paper airplanes he and Ron had been making into his book bag, realizing Professor McGonagall was not someone he wanted to cross. A glint appeared in McGonagall's eye, before quickly vanishing as she turned her attention to the entire class and began to lecture on the rules of Transfiguration.

After a few demonstrations, including turning her desk into a pig and back, McGonagall set the class to try to change a match into a needle. Very quickly, Harry and Ron found out that Transfiguration wasn't so easy to do, and lost some of their excitement after the first few attempts altered nothing about the match. By the end of the class, only Hermione had made any progress, her match looking silver, leading to McGonagall giving the girl some praise, and raising the ire of a very red Ron. Harry quickly moved Ron's attention away from the girl, telling him of having Potions next, which quickly brought the boy to pat Harry on the back in sympathy before leaving for his next class.

Potions took place in one of the dungeons in Hogwarts. It was much colder than any of the other rooms Harry had been to in the castle, and the various filled jars lining the shelves of the room, certainly added to the creepy ambiance.

Harry found a seat in the middle of the room, next to Hannah. After greeting her, he sat back and waited for the fireworks to begin. He didn't have to wait long, as to start off the class Professor Snape took the roll call.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," sneered Snape, his beady eyes glaring at Harry, "our new _celebrity_. I hope we aren't taking up your precious time with having you grace us with your presence."

Michael Corner and a few Hufflepuffs he hadn't met yet snickered at Harry. Hannah looked appalled, but a shake of Harry's head kept her from speaking up.

As Harry expected, from the letters Nym wrote home after Potions lessons, Snape quickly fell into a steady consciousness of haughty lecturing. After a particular long winding speech that ended with Snape proclaiming the ability to put a stopper in death, the classroom got eerily silent.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly, "Where would I find a bezoar?"

Harry jolted into awareness at the sudden attention. "Erm," Harry started, trying to think up what a bezoar was. "I think you'd have one in your supply cabinet if you looked."

The class giggled a bit, before being silenced by Snape's incredulous stare. "The supply cabinet you say, Mr. Potter?" Snape answered, walking closer to where Harry sat. "Clearly fame isn't everything. Ten points from Ravenclaw for your idiotic guess."

Harry bit his lip and refused to look away from Snape's gaze.

"I'll give you another try, Mr. Potter. Considering who your father is, I'll give you an easy one," taunted Snape, "What is the difference between monkshood, and wolfsbane?"

"I don't know, but they both can't be as ugly as you," snapped Harry, unable to hold back any longer.

The entire class gasped in shock, before flinching at the hateful glare coming from Snape. Clearly this wasn't the right thing to say to the Professor. "DETENTION, POTTER! Why am I not surprised that with your feeble intellect, you wouldn't even open a book before coming to Hogwarts? A bezoar can be found in the stomach of a goat, and monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant that also goes by the name aconite. WHY AREN'T YOU ALL WRITING THIS DOWN?!" roared Snape.

The rest of the class didn't go any better for Harry. Anytime someone messed up on the potion assigned, Snape would turn his gaze to Harry and berate him for not being aware of the problem and preventing it in the first place. Luckily, Hannah seemed to avoid any of the abuse, despite sitting right next to Harry and being his friend. A few times she turned a concerned look at Harry, but he didn't seem to be fazed, as if he had been expecting the treatment. Once out the door of the classroom, Hannah jumped at the topic.

"Wow, Professor Snape was being entirely unfair, Harry," said Hannah, "although you did seem quick to insult him."

Harry frowned at Hannah. "He's an uptight git, Hannah," Harry explained, "My dad and his friends had several run-ins with Snape when they were at Hogwarts, and he's just being bitter about it."

Harry shrugged and said goodbye to Hannah before walking up the stairs leading to Ravenclaw Tower. Hannah let out a sigh, "It looks like it's going to be a long year."


	9. Rivals

Author's Note: Thanks to my beta Rayvynwood for her lovely assistance, and to athenakitty for reviewing. I respond to reviews just before I upload the next chapter.

**Chapter Nine - Rivals**

One thing that became clear to Harry as the weeks passed was that there were those at Hogwarts who seemed to enjoy making his life difficult. Every aspect of his daily routine was hindered by these less-than-pleasant characters. In his classes, most of his teachers leaned in one of two directions concerning Harry: they either were nice to him, like his Head of House, Professor Flitwick, or they were indifferent to him, like the History of Magic teacher, Professor Binns.

However, every time Harry stepped foot into the dungeons to take part in a Potions class, it seemed that Professor Snape made it his mission to antagonize Harry throughout the class. Snape would repeatedly find reasons to vanish the contents of Harry's cauldron, giving him a zero for the day. When he could find no reason, Harry's finished potion vial would often find itself broken on the classroom floor, leaving Snape no choice but to give Harry a zero. Veiled jabs at Harry and his family would get to Harry, giving Snape reason to continually take points away from Ravenclaw. Harry would retaliate verbally, or through pranks—changing the color of Snape's robes to pink comes to mind—so it was rare that Harry would escape a Potions class without an assigned detention.

Whenever Harry could find the time to get away from classes and studying, he did his best to explore the castle he'd heard so much about in the Marauders' stories. Most of the time, it would only be Harry exploring the corridors, but occasionally he would run into Ron or Daphne and end up having a companion in his expeditions. Other times Harry would cross paths with Nym or the Weasley twins and they would point out a nook or cranny that he had overlooked.

The only downside to Harry's ventures was that lurking behind seemingly every corner was the caretaker Mr. Filch and his faithful cat, Mrs. Norris. He'd seen Filch enough times that the older man's greedy leer and grimy suit could be recognized a fair distance away. The Weasley twins had explained that the caretaker was a Squib, and seemed to always threaten the use of chains for detention, but neither Weasley boy had actually seen them used. When Harry had detention with Filch, he'd only been assigned to clean various corridors, the trophy room once or twice, and other frustrating odd jobs that could be thrust upon a first year.

With spending so much time in detention, even being supervised by Filch wasn't so bad when Harry had someone to pass the time with. More often or not, he was grouped together with Fred and George, who would use the opportunity to share the reasons they got into their detention, and how they could improve on their mayhem the next time. The more painful detentions were the ones when Snape found the time to oversee it himself. Harry had already cleaned and organized the Potions class supply closet enough times that he had memorized most of the locations for specific ingredients.

Despite the trials of Potions class and detention, they weren't the reasons for Harry's peer problems. Once his famous presence walking through the halls of Hogwarts became a regular sight, trends quickly settled amongst the other students. The older boys tended to ignore him, treating him like just another first year, while those in his year either gaped at him or glared at him. The older girls regarded Harry as cute, while those in his year would smile or blush in his presence. It didn't stop him from getting randomly hugged and smooched in the hallways as he went through his day, not that he complained as long as it didn't make him late.

The Weasleys were the only Gryffindor boys Harry could claim as friends, and some of their friends would at least acknowledge Harry with a nod when he greeted them. The Hufflepuffs in his year were friendly to Harry, mostly in part to his close friendship with Hannah, who was one of the nicest girls around. After the first few days, most of Ravenclaw treated Harry as one of their own, and he was glad he could be safe from crowding in his own common room. However, in Slytherin, most of the students followed their Head of House's example and glared and sneered at The-Boy-Who-Lived. Outside of Daphne's influence, which just stretched to the other Slytherin first year girls, there was no one else to be found in that house that didn't dislike Harry in some way. One particular first year seemed to have made it his mission to provoke Harry at any possible moment--Draco Malfoy.

"Move aside, Potter!" erupted Malfoy, pushing Harry aside and striding past into the Great Hall, his lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind.

"Oomph," grunted Harry, narrowly avoiding slamming into the wall. "Watch it, Malfoy! I'm sure if you tried, that inflated head of yours wouldn't take up so much space."

"You're one to talk, Potter," Malfoy answered, turning to sneer at Harry. "Can't go anywhere without your fan club making a scene."

"Are you jealous?" asked Harry. "It's not my fault I've done more as a baby than you've done in your life."

"It's simply that most Slytherins see you for what you are," remarked Malfoy, sending a distasteful glance towards the first year girls in his house. "A one-trick wonder. You'll get yours, Potter."

Harry stepped up aggressively to face down Malfoy. "If you're so confident Malfoy, how about we settle it right now?" he said, removing his wand from his robes.

"Right here in the Great Hall, in front of meddlesome professors? You'd like that wouldn't you?" asked Malfoy incredulously.

"Name your terms then," replied Harry. "I'm not afraid of you."

A strange look passed over Malfoy's eyes before he smirked at Harry. "Midnight. A duel. In the trophy room. Loser acknowledges the winner's greatness."

"I'll see you there," answered Harry confidently, not backing down an inch from the challenge.

Malfoy merely grunted in return and turned to leave. "Let's go, Crabbe, Goyle." The two large Slytherin first years stared blankly at Harry before turning and following Malfoy.

As Harry gazed at the retreating Slytherins' backs, a head popped up onto each of his shoulders, joining his view.

"Did my ears hear correctly?" asked the head on Harry's left.

"It did my brother, for I heard it as well," answered the head on Harry's right.

"Harry, my fellow prankster, you realize that Slytherins are a suspect lot," remarked the left head.

"And that Malfoy is as Slytherin as you can get," added the right head.

"Yeah, I know. I have a plan," answered Harry calmly.

"A plan? Do tell," replied the left head.

"I do so love plans," said the right head.

"Well, Fred, George, I have no plans to duel Malfoy. It's obvious he's going to tilt the situation to his advantage, or try at least. No, I think I want to leave a surprise for our little Slytherin, and anyone else he brings," smirked Harry.

Fred and George lifted their heads off Harry's shoulders and looked at each other before nodding and turning back to Harry. "We'll help," they chimed in.

Harry looked at the two twins and realized they'd be able to know where he could find what he needed. "Alright guys, we'll meet right after curfew, in the charms corridor--"

"No need, Harry. We'll pick you up outside your common room in Ravenclaw Tower. We know a shortcut," interrupted the twins. They gave Harry a not-so-subtle wink and continued on their way to the Gryffindor table.

Harry just shook his head in wonder and plodded over to the Ravenclaw table, giving small smiles and nods to the girls and occasional boy greeting him. He didn't see Penelope at the table so Harry sat down in the empty seat next to Terry Boot, who nodded at Harry before turning back to his porridge.

"I read the notice that was in the common room this morning," started Harry. "Flying lessons start today for all the houses."

"And I bet you can't wait to show off for everyone, Potter," muttered Michael Corner from across the table.

"Well, I certainly want to fly, if that's what you're getting at," replied Harry defensively, "I mean, first years not being able to bring their own brooms is heresy!"

"It's more about liability than anything, Harry," answered Padma Patil from Harry's right. "There are a lot of Muggleborns and even Purebloods that have never been up on a broom on their own, and Hogwarts wants to avoid any injuries or inquiries by the Ministry."

"Oh that's right, your dad's a solicitor for the Ministry, right?" asked Harry.

"That's right," replied Padma, smiling slightly and giving Harry a nudge in the shoulder. "You remembered. I'll have to watch myself around you, Harry."

Harry's cheeks pinked a bit, but he was saved from replying when a commotion broke out at the Gryffindor table. Harry and a few of the Ravenclaws stood up to try to see what was going on. From what could be seen, it looked like Malfoy had made his way over to the Gryffindors and tried to take something, but Professor McGonagall, the Gryffindor Head of House, was on the scene before any violence started.

* * *

It was early in the afternoon when Harry and the other Ravenclaw first years trudged out the front door and onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a cool, cloudy day, birds happily chirping as they flew by the walking students. They made their way to a section of the lawns that was relatively flat, just across from the ominous-looking Forbidden Forest. 

When they arrived, the first years from the other three houses were already there, somewhat clumped together in front of what must have been over forty broomsticks lying in organized lines on the lawn. Harry knew from Nym's many rants that the quality of the school brooms were severely lacking; he also remembered how much she cried for joy when her dad had given her a Comet Two-Sixty for Christmas during her third year at Hogwarts.

The Hogwarts Flying Instructor, Madam Hooch, arrived shortly after everyone had settled around the brooms.

"Everyone, stand by a broomstick," she barked out. "Hurry it up; there's no room for stragglers in this class."

After Harry recovered from Madam Hooch's outburst, he exchanged glances with Daphne, who had found him once the Ravenclaws had joined the others. The Slytherin boys smugly strutted out to the nearest brooms and slowly the rest followed suit, some of the girls waiting to see where Harry would choose to be. Harry noticed Ron glaring at the Slytherins from his broom, and decided to choose the one right across; Daphne and Hannah grabbed the ones on either side of Harry. The rest quickly grabbed the nearest broom to Harry they could as Madam Hooch's patience seemed to be wearing thin at the scene.

"Now that we've finally _settled_," Madam Hooch rolled her eyes, "stick out your dominant hand over the broom and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" chorused the entire class.

Harry's broom leaped into his hand at once, the years of practice with Nym and the Marauders out of his mum's sight clearly showing. Daphne's took a little longer than Harry's to reach her hand, but it came quite steadily. She wasn't one to be left out of activities at the estate. Daphne didn't mind flying, but steered clear from Quidditch. Hannah's shook on the ground a bit, but with Harry murmuring encouraging words to the girl, it slowly made it to her hand, resulting in a beaming smile directed at Harry.

Ron seemed to be trying to help Hermione Granger with her broomstick. Arguing was more like it. Hermione refused to put away a roll of parchment in her hand that she kept referring to as the broom just rolled lazily on the ground. Ron's face was getting very red, but before Harry could step in, Madam Hooch approached the girl and set her straight and soon enough the broom, however unwilling, was in Hermione's hand.

Madam Hooch continued down the line showing the first years how to properly mount their brooms, and the correct grip to have. Harry and Daphne couldn't help but smirk when Madam Hooch informed Malfoy that he was holding his broom incorrectly. Malfoy's reddening cheeks and scowl could be seen clearly from Harry's location.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off the ground hard," instructed Madam Hooch. "Keep a steady grip on your brooms and rise a few feet and come back down by leaning forward. Now, on my mark--"

Before Madam Hooch could announce the countdown, a Hufflepuff boy down the line began to shakily rise, quickly gaining height at an erratic pace.

"Boy!" shouted Madam Hooch. "Come back down!"

But the boy had no control on the flight of the broomstick, and once it had seemingly straightened out, the broom tilted forward launching the Hufflepuff off the broom like a bucking bronco. With a sickening thud, the boy slammed into ground, a whimpering mess on the lawn. Harry couldn't tear his eyes from the gruesome sight; he had felt both Hannah and Daphne jump at impact. The former was currently burrowing herself into Harry's arms, unable to watch, while the latter was watching the boy's broom lazily float towards the Forbidden Forest before it disappeared from her sight.

Madam Hooch quickly rushed over to the boy, and looked him over, her face as pale as the Hufflepuff's. "Looks like a broken wrist," Madam Hooch murmured, sighing in relief. "Come boy, up and about. You'll be fine once we get you fixed up."

She helped up the Hufflepuff and turned back to the rest of the first years. "Not one broomstick is to be in the air while I am gone. Disobey and you'll be out of Hogwarts so fast you won't even remember you were here. Come along, dear." Madam Hooch directed the boy, who was holding his wrist gingerly while tears came down his face, to walk beside her as she helped him back toward the castle.

Once the two were out of range, Malfoy and the Slytherins were quick to start trouble. They began joking about the Hufflepuff's unfortunate accident, even doing imitations of his fall. Harry was smart enough to let it alone and ignore the idiots while he conversed with his friends, but one Gryffindor didn't back down.

"You boys should be ashamed of yourselves," scolded Hermione Granger. "Poor Neville has a hard enough time as it is. He must be heartbroken."

"Ooh, sticking up for the Squib?" remarked Pansy Parkinson, much to Daphne's chagrin. "I forgot, you must be looking out for your future husband."

"Look at this!" said Malfoy, darting towards Hermione and snatching the parchment that was partially protruding from her robes. "Granger needed help with flying. Perhaps you should take the hint and leave, _Mudblood_."

Harry's eyes snapped to Malfoy once the insult left the Slytherin's mouth. Daphne tried to hold Harry back, but he pulled away, pushing Hannah towards her. "Give that back and _apologize_, Malfoy," Harry demanded quietly. The rest of the first years became silent as they focused on the confrontation.

Malfoy's eyes flashed at the obvious challenge. "I think not, Potter. I think I'll put it somewhere Granger can't get it--how about a tree?"

"Malfoy--" but before Harry could continue, Malfoy had already kicked off the ground and risen into the air.

"Come and get it, Potter," taunted Draco, his sneer still visible despite his height.

Harry quickly grabbed the nearest school broom on the ground and ignored the pleading from Hermione and his friends. He quickly stunned the other first years at the smoothness of his mounting and flying of the broom. Despite the broom's deficiencies, Harry quickly gained on Malfoy, shifting his weight to lessen the drag on the broomstick.

He quickly cut off Malfoy before he could reach the edge of the forest; a shocked look resonated on the boy's face. "Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry, "or I'll knock you down and take it from you myself."

"You're not in the position to make demands, Potter," replied Malfoy, attempting to slowly back away from Harry.

Harry didn't bother to reply; he leaned forward on his broom and rocketed towards Malfoy, intending to knock the boy down. Malfoy barely avoided the charge, nearly slipping off his broom.

Malfoy was clearly unnerved by Harry's bluntness and decided to cut his losses. "You want it, Potter," sneered Malfoy, "catch it then!" Malfoy launched the roll of parchment into the air while he darted to the ground.

Harry quickly focused on the airborne object, tightening his grip on the school broom, and leaned forward, entering a steep dive, trying to catch the parchment before it fell in the nearby lake. The broom shook as Harry tried to push everything he could into it, and just before the parchment hit water, Harry's hand snatched it out of the air, his knuckles skimming the surface of the lake.

He turned about on the broom and landed gently on the ground, swarmed by the enthusiastic cheers of his fellow first years, while the Slytherin boys looked on grumpily. Harry handed back the scroll to a stunned Hermione, and was soon bombarded with hugs from blushing girls and pats on the backs from the boys, save for the few that didn't care for him. Harry was so entranced by the welcome that he didn't realize he had been watched from the castle, nor did he notice the small figure marching down the field to the group of first years.

"MR. POTTER!"

Harry turned from his admirers, to see the small figure come into view. Professor Flitwick was jogging down towards them.

"I never would've believed…" The professor seemed to be in a state of shock and disbelief. "Minerva had told me many things about your father—I didn't think you would—"

"It wasn't Harry's fault, Professor--" started Daphne.

"That's enough, Miss Greengrass--" cut off Professor Flitwick.

"But Malfoy--" pleaded Ron.

"Is not a part of this matter, Mr. Weasley. Mr. Potter, please follow me." The diminutive professor shook his head and led Harry towards the castle, murmuring to himself along the way.

As Harry followed his Head of House up the stairs, through the main doors and down the halls, all types of terrible thoughts were going through his head. His dad and his friends got into tons of trouble, but nothing as severe as this, as far as he knew. Harry just imagined having to return back to the estate, the welcoming gaze from Bonnie and his sisters, the understanding look from Uncle Sirius, the bewildered look from his dad, and what just broke Harry's heart was imagining the disappointed look that his mum and aunts would have.

Harry's focus on his thoughts had distracted him from the fact that Professor Flitwick had stopped outside the Defense classroom. He opened the door and poked his head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Quirrell, could I borrow Mr. Sutcliffe for a moment?" requested the Ravenclaw Head. Harry could hear a stuttered response, and soon enough the door opened more widely to let out a tall blonde-haired Ravenclaw boy, looking quite confused when he noticed Harry standing in the hallway behind Professor Flitwick

"Follow me, you two," replied Professor Flitwick, leading the duo to his office in the charms corridor. He closed the door behind them, while Sutcliffe looked from Harry to Professor Flitwick, trying to understand why he was being involved.

"Mr. Potter, this is David Sutcliffe, Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch squad," introduced Professor Flitwick. "Sutcliffe, I've found you a player."

"Are you serious, Professor?" asked Sutcliffe. "His dad's skills are still legendary around Hogwarts."

"Yes, I am, Mr. Sutcliffe," answered Professor Flitwick, "Mr. Potter here, during first year flying lessons, dove to the ground and caught a roll of parchment before it hit the ground. The speed and precision he showed on a substandard broom was simply amazing."

"Well, there is a second-year girl who's wanted to be Seeker since last year," said Sutcliffe uncomfortably, "and she's good. It was sort of understood she'd be getting the position when Stevens graduates next year."

"Well, the skills young Mr. Potter here has shown makes him quite versatile," Professor Flitwick replied easily, "I'm sure you'd be willing to play Chaser, Mr. Potter?"

Harry had been so stunned by the turn of events that it took him a second to realize he was being addressed before he nodded jerkily.

"Well there you go, Mr. Sutcliffe, a five tool Quidditch player and a first year to boot!" proclaimed Professor Flitwick happily.

"That could work, Professor," replied Sutcliffe, his frown slowly turning into a smile as he took Harry in. "Jorgensen was complaining that he wanted more time to study for his NEWTs, but we hadn't a replacement that would be available long-term. Potter here would just be the thing! You're handy with the Quaffle as much with the Snitch?"

"Yeah," answered Harry, finally finding his voice. "My dad made sure I knew my way around a Quaffle before he let me chase Snitches."

"Excellent then!" said Professor Flitwick. "I think the time is right for Ravenclaw to make a stab for the Quidditch Cup. I can't wait to see Severus's and Minerva's faces when they see our new player!" The small professor leaped into the air in triumph and left his office, leaving two bemused students behind.

"I thought first years couldn't bring their brooms, let alone play Quidditch?" asked Harry.

"Don't worry about it, Potter. Our Head of House was probably too excited to mention the details, but I'm positive he'll take care of it. And until you can get a broomstick here, you'll have to make do with a school broom, but from what Professor Flitwick said, I doubt it'll hold you back much."

"Oh," answered Harry dumbly. "OH! My mum is going to kill me. They'll want to know how I got myself into this position and oh boy…" Harry trailed off at the thought.

"Listen, I'll talk to the rest of the team and inform them about this new development and swear them to secrecy until the first match. I'm sure Jorgensen will be thrilled to hear he won't have to stretch his time between his studies and Quidditch. I'll want you to meet our Seeker-to-be, Potter. She watches practice from the stands, then once we finish up, she goes through some exercises Stevens and I devised to train her up. She's quite nimble and very competitive. I'm sure she'll welcome you flying with her as well, just in case something goes wrong. You can never be too careful. Oh, and welcome to the team," finished Sutcliffe with a smile.


	10. Midnight Marauding

Author's Note: Thanks to my beta Rayvynwood for her lovely assistance, and to Skippy Agogo, Jarno, darkcelestial20 for their reviews. I respond to reviews just before I upload the next chapter.

**Chapter Ten - Midnight Marauding**

It wasn't until later that evening at dinner that Harry was finally able to confide to his friends about his new development.

"You're pulling my leg, right?" asked Nym incredulously. When Harry just shook his head, the spoon she was using to eat pumpkin pie off Harry's plate fell back to the table. "Oh wow, our dads are going to be ecstatic when they hear the news! And your mum—oh …" She trailed off at the thought of how the news was going to be taken at the Potter Estate.

"Well, I certainly don't envy you having to break the news to the family, Harry," added Daphne. "I'd say you dodged a curse there when you broke Madam Hooch's order. Only you would have such luck." She sighed and returned to picking at her plate.

"It was certainly daring of you to confront Malfoy, Harry," replied Hannah. "He already spends an inordinate amount of time trying to mess with you, and I doubt he'll be slowing down anytime soon once he hears about _this_."

"About _that_, please don't let anyone here know I made the team. We're trying to keep it a surprise for at least the first match," said Harry. "I'm going to make sure when I write to Mum and Dad that if they want to send a Howler, to at least wait until the day after the match."

Nym reached down and sneaked one more bit of Harry's pie. "Don't worry about it, flyboy. We'll keep quiet," she said quietly, giving him a kiss on the forehead, and ruffling his hair with her hand before she skipped back in the direction of her usual seat at the Hufflepuff table.

"The Blood-traitor giving you a goodbye kiss, Potter?" a voice drawled from behind Harry. "Having a last meal before leaving on the train? I bet Gringotts would be willing to hire you to guard their vaults."

Harry turned around to see Malfoy standing there arrogantly, his two bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle right behind him. "Unfortunately, Malfoy, I'm not going anywhere. You're not getting out of our duel that easily."

A flicker of fear seemed to pass over Malfoy's eyes before they returned to their usual spiteful gaze. "Don't worry, Potter. I'm not surprised you escaped punishment; Dumbledore will do anything for his precious savior. You'll get yours tonight."

Harry, lost in thought over what Malfoy said, didn't notice the glances his two friends gave each other.

"What's this about a duel, Harry?" asked Hannah, bringing Harry's attention back to the present.

"Oh, Malfoy challenged me to a duel this morning, and we agreed for it to happen tonight in the trophy room," answered Harry.

"You can't trust Malfoy to be honorable, Harry," warned Daphne. "He will do anything to get ahead. Most of the girls in my year can see it except for Pansy. She's nice and all, but I think she has a crush on Malfoy -- although Tracy was saying something the other day about a betrothal --"

"Don't worry about it, Daphne," Harry interrupted before she wandered any farther away from the point she was trying to make. "I wouldn't trust a Malfoy if my live depended on it. Fred and George are going to help me set up a little surprise for Malfoy after curfew. Even if he snitches on me, he has to lead the authority figure to the trophy room, which, in my book, is just another welcome victim."

"What if it's someone wonderful, Harry, like Professor Flitwick or Professor Sprout?" asked a concerned Hannah.

"That's not Malfoy's style, Hannah," said Harry. "There are only two people he'll go to in order for me to get the most punishment: Snape or Filch. Either one deserves what's coming to him."

"I can easily state that you're a glutton for punishment, Harry," added Daphne, "I respect that."

* * *

It was shortly after curfew when Harry was lying on his bed with the curtains drawn, waiting for the telltale sign that all his dorm mates were sleeping. After a few minutes of hearing nothing but gentle breathing and light snoring, Harry got up silently and put his cloak on over his pajamas; the castle was known to get very cold during the night.

He made his way down the dorm corridor and its steps, entering the common room. Having expected a dark and empty room, Harry was surprised to see a few candles still lit at one of the tables in a corner of the room. They kept the surrounding area lit for a witch with long brown wavy hair, who was currently turned from her work and stared straight at the intruding Harry.

"Harry, are you feeling ok?" asked a concerned Penelope. "Having trouble sleeping?"

"Uh-um — no," stammered Harry, allowing himself to be drawn towards the table and into the candle light.

Penelope gave him a thorough look-over, feeling his forehead for a fever when she noticed he had on his cloak over his pajamas. "And why did you feel the need to put your cloak on, Harry? Going somewhere?" Penelope asked, becoming increasingly interested the more she looked at him.

Harry tried to think up an excuse, when he realized he didn't want to lie to Penelope, she didn't deserve that. "I — um," Harry started, bowing his head, "I'm setting up a prank on Malfoy. He challenged me to a duel and I was planning on teaching him a lesson."

Penelope held in a gasp when she heard his reason, but refrained from frowning since he had been upfront once confronted. "I don't like it, Harry. I know you know that, and if we weren't close I'd keep you from going, but you'll keep safe, right?"

Harry looked up at Penelope and was grateful for her lenience. "Of course, Penelope," answered Harry cheerfully. "I'm not actually going to duel Malfoy, just a little prank with the help of the Weasley twins, who, now that I think about it, are probably waiting for me."

Penelope just rolled her eyes at the mention of those troublesome twins and motioned for Harry to go. "Don't stay out too late, Harry."

Harry leaped forward and kissed Penelope's cheek in gratitude before quickly exiting the common room, leaving the Prefect to let out a sigh before returning to her unfinished Ancient Runes homework.

Luckily, Harry had thought ahead and had handed the twins a list of items he wanted for the prank before he had gone for the flying lesson that afternoon. After Fred and George teased him a bit once they found out why he was late, they quickly set off for the trophy room, with Fred every now and then glancing at a slip of parchment as they moved through the halls.

Upon reaching the trophy room, Harry took the time to look around the place. Since they were early for the arranged duel time, only Harry and the twins were in the room. The trophy cases gleamed in the moonlight; someone must've recently had detention. Both Harry and the twins were familiar with having to polish these awards. Goblets, shields, plaques, plates and statues were littered throughout the room, their freshly scrubbed surfaces twinkling in the reflected light.

In his quiet inspection of the room, Harry noticed something he'd ignored during his detentions. There were two entrances to the room, one significantly smaller in size than the regular doorway.

"Why is that door so small, guys?" asked Harry as he rummaged around through one of the sacks Fred and George brought.

"Well that's used mainly by the house-elves, Harry," answered George. "All the staff and students normally use the regular door."

"Which means that we can use that door to hide behind while we watch the prank in action," added Fred.

"Perfect," replied Harry, as he removed his wand from his pocket and began to tap the floor right in front of the closed doorway, mumbling words that neither twin could hear.

"Erm," started Fred, "what are you trying to do mate?"

Harry looked up from the floor at the twins. "Well, I've seen my godfather use this misdirection charm several times before, but I think I keep just mispronouncing it."

George listened closely to Harry's incantation. "I think you're thinking of a Confundus Charm, mate."

"Twirl your wand a bit more, Harry," added Fred.

Harry listened to their advice and after a few attempts, successfully performed the charm. Fred decided to try it out, and struggled a bit when he crossed the doorway.

"Well it's a bit on the weak side, Harry. But it's definitely a Confundus Charm," Fred replied. "It should work enough on a first year like Malfoy, and definitely on Filch, but I doubt it'd be successful on someone like Snape."

"Well we'll just have to hope Snape's busy tonight. I want you guys to levitate that bucket I asked for above the doorway while I stick this rope across the floor to the walls. At that angle when Malfoy gets hit with the Confundus Charm, he'll trigger the trap when he trips on the rope and down the bucket will fall," said Harry, having finished with the sticking charm and now watching the twins levitate the large bucket.

"So mate, what's this red liquid you had us pour in here?" asked George as he and his brother finished securing the bucket to the rope.

"Blood?" joked Fred.

"It's some paint that I brought from home," answered Harry. "I asked Nym to perform some conjuring spells and soon enough I had a whole trunk full of paint jars. The best thing about this paint is that you can't wash it off; you have to wait for your skin to shed, so you're stuck that way for a long while. I'm sure this is putting them to good use."

After double-checking all of their work, Harry noticed it was close to midnight so he turned away from the trap and headed to the door where Fred and George were already waiting.

"Alright, this should be fun to watch," Harry said, closing the door just enough to leave a gap for them to watch through. It was when he turned back to see why the twins hadn't replied that he saw that they weren't alone. Standing next to Fred and George were Nym and Daphne.

"What are you two doing here?" hissed Harry, causing both Nym and Daphne to reach out and slap his arm. "Ow!"

"Well, Harry, you're being extremely rude, you know," replied Daphne, causing Harry to narrow his eyes.

"Once Daphne here informed me of your little duel and your 'surprise' plan," Nym said, cutting in to prevent any arguing from continuing. "I decided I just had to see it for myself so I picked up Daphne on the way. I had wondered why you wanted so much red paint."

"See it for herself she says," remarked George.

"A girl after our own hearts," added Fred.

Nym knocked the twins' heads together and was getting ready to deal out more pain when they all heard approaching voices. As the voices got louder it became clear that Malfoy had indeed snitched on Harry, to Mr. Filch.

"This way," Draco ordered obnoxiously, "I heard Potter say he'd be in here, messing with the trophy room."

"You better be right about this, boy," threatened Filch, "or I'll be getting you in detention." The jingling of bells informed the listening pranksters that Mrs. Norris had accompanied the caretaker on this mission.

"Look, it's midnight, he should be right there--" Before Malfoy could finish his statement he walked into the trophy room leading Filch, where he was hit with the effect of the Confundus Charm. Draco stumbled as he became disoriented and roughly grabbed hold of Filch right before he tripped on the line of rope, dragging Filch to the ground with him as the bucket overturned itself and poured gallons of neon red paint on the unfortunate duo. The grunts and yelps were soon joined by the howls of Mrs. Norris as she entered the room and slid across the floor right into a cabinet.

"Stop struggling, boy," snapped Filch, "I'm trying to get off you."

"Well, get your hands off me!" shrieked Malfoy, "What is this vile substance?"

Filch wiped his eyes to get a look around and gasped in despair. The resulting splatter from the paint had spread itself throughout the room, littering the previously clean awards with large amounts of red paint. "They've desecrated this room!" exclaimed Filch. "I'll get those Weasleys."

"Weasleys?! This was clearly Potter's doing! And this isn't coming off!" shouted Malfoy, as he scrubbed furiously at his robes and arms. "Wait until Father hears about this."

The group of onlookers giggled silently as two of the bigger annoyances in Hogwarts were covered from head to toe in red paint. Once this got out to the whole school, it would take a long time for either male to not be sniggered at. In the group's abundance of joy, they hadn't noticed the approaching cat, until she let out a hideous hiss right at the door. The whole group jumped in fright and quickly high-tailed it down the corridor, weaving left and right until they landed in a dimly lit area of the castle.

Fred was chosen to look if the coast was clear, and although he came back to inform them that Filch and Malfoy were on their way, he was also giggling over the fact that he saw Filch marching down the hall with Malfoy scowling right behind him, both leaving trails of red behind them.

As the group started debating on where to go and if they should split up, something shot through the corridor at a high velocity, interrupting their conversation. It was Peeves the Poltergeist. He was known to wreak havoc throughout Hogwarts on a daily basis. Harry remembered Fred and George telling him that the only two people that Peeves listened to were Dumbledore out of respect and the Slytherin ghost, the Bloody Baron, out of fear.

Peeves stopped his movement when he saw the group of students and cackled with delight.

"Peeves, quiet down," ordered Fred, waving his hands in a placating manner.

"Weasleys and firsties wandering around at midnight," said Peeves. "Naughty, naughty, should have invited old Peevsie."

"Well, Peeves," George said warily, "it must have slipped our mind. You know how it is, trying to prank Filch and all."

Unfortunately for the group, this seemed to have been the wrong name to mention. Peeves had a strange look on his face at the mention of Filch, which let way to a greedy leer. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" shouted Peeves. "OUT OF BED AND WAITING FOR TROUBLE IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Everyone got a panicked look on their face from Peeves' outburst and quickly looked left and right for an escape route. Ducking under Peeves, they made a run to the end of the corridor. Harry tried to open the door, but it was locked.

Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door. "_Alohomora_!" he said, but the door still refused to budge.

Fred, George and Nym quickly exchanged looks at each other and bent their heads together, brainstorming how to get through the door. Daphne and Harry kept shooting looks at the bouncing Peeves, who looked way too happy about the trouble he caused. Soon the three older students faced the door and began murmuring different kind of spells that they knew at the door, trying to loosen it.

Luckily enough, a spell Fred finally used had unlocked the door with a loud squelch. He shrugged. "What do you figure? A Cheering Charm unlocked it?" he joked.

"Did it really?" laughed George. "That must be one sad door."

Harry just shook his head and led them through the door, closing it behind them. As the others silently exchanged looks, Harry took notice of what was in the locked room with them, a gigantic three-headed dog that was currently sleeping the night away.

"HOLY--" shrieked a startled Harry before Nym could clamp her hand over his mouth.

"Well I guess we know why that door was so hard to open," said Fred.

"I wonder why we didn't notice this beastie before," pondered George.

"While you two decide the meaning of life," whispered Daphne, "I suggest we do it elsewhere. I don't need a three-headed dog to tell me I shouldn't be here."

Everyone nodded at the girl's sound advice and leant towards the door trying to hear if anyone was coming. Through the heavy oak door, they could hear the muffled shouts of Filch and Malfoy towards Peeves, along with the banging of metal as the Poltergeist threw objects at his targets. After a few minutes, the noise quieted down to non-existent levels and the students looked at each other, trying to decide if it was safe to take a chance to escape.

Their choice was quickly made as Harry noticed that he didn't hear the gentle snoring anymore. Turning around, he saw that the large three-headed dog was awake, blinking its eyes and sniffing the room. Its drowsiness was slowly leaving, so the group quickly bolted through the door, slamming it behind them before the dog could do nothing more than growl at the intruders.

After a few twists and turns through corridors and stairways, they all agreed to split up and head to their respective common rooms. Nym dragged Harry away, quietly informing him that she'd be dropping him off at Ravenclaw Tower so she'd be sure that he wasn't roaming around again that night.

"Why did we have to run into Peeves of all things tonight?" muttered Nym.

"He didn't seem too bad," remarked Harry.

"Not too bad?" asked Nym incredulously. "He has no regard for keeping us out of trouble. It's all one big game to him. We're just lucky that Peeves found the idea of messing with Filch more appealing than making sure we got caught."

"Well," said Harry, "I'd have to say it was worth it to see Malfoy's and Filch's faces during that prank."

"While that was fun, Harry," replied Nym, "I think the more interesting thing tonight was that dog."

"That too," chimed in Harry, "I mean, no wonder the third floor corridor is off limits. I wouldn't want to cross paths with that thing when it's hungry." Harry shuddered at the thought.

"Yeah," Nym answered halfheartedly, seemingly deep in thought. "There's never been a corridor off limits since I've been here at Hogwarts, so it has to be something more than just the dog. Did you see that trap door it was guarding? I wonder where it leads."

"There was a trap door?" asked Harry. "I think I was too busy freaking out at the three heads."

"How brave of you, Harry," said Nym, pretending to swoon into Harry's arms.

Harry shrugged her off, and stomped past her. "That thing had three heads, Nym," added Harry, breaking his short silent protest off. "That's three things more than I need to try to eat me."

Nym rolled her eyes and shoved Harry gently in front of his common room entrance. "Don't worry about it, Harry. Just chalk it up to another wacky adventure inside Hogwarts. Goodnight."

Nym turned and walked away, narrowly missing a nearby suit of armor when she threw her hand up to wave behind her at Harry. It had been a long night, but as Harry crossed the Ravenclaw entrance, he began to wonder just what all the fuss about guards was lately, and what was so special that it needed to be guarded.


	11. All Hallows Eve

Author's Note: I'm back! Losing my beta really impacted my writing but I'm finally turning the corner. Thanks to darkcelestial20 and Dutchfan for their reviews.

**Chapter Eleven - All Hallows Eve**

The morning after, word quickly spread throughout the school –- thanks to Fred and George –- about Malfoy and Filch's new look. The teachers seemed to take it in stride, Professor Dumbledore's beard twitched at the news, and the Gamekeeper, Hagrid, bellowed out a few laughs. Snape didn't seem to find the situation funny at all; in fact his glare and sneer were far more intense than Harry had ever seen from the Potions Master before.

Harry didn't let that bother him. Neither victim showed their face during mealtimes, so Harry was glad to be free of the two annoyances for the time being. He wasn't celebrating as much as the Weasley twins were, because Harry's mind continued to wander off to the mystery of the trap door that was guarded by that three-headed dog and Malfoy's remarks regarding Gringotts.

He didn't have any idea what the meaning behind either situation was, but that didn't stop Harry from having to answer someone else's questions later on that week, at Quidditch practice. He was walking off the pitch, exhausted after his first day as a member of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, when he was confronted by a petite Asian girl with long black hair, the Ravenclaw Seeker-to-be, Cho Chang.

"Excuse me, Harry?" interrupted Cho, cutting off Harry's path to the locker rooms.

"Yeah?" replied Harry. He raised his arm to shade his eyes from the sun.

"So you're the new Chaser?" said Cho, "No wonder it's being kept a secret. How did you pull this off? Is this because you're the _Boy-Who-Lived_?" She finished angrily, her hands clenched tightly into fists at her side.

"Hey, hold on a second," said Harry hastily. "I am the new chaser, but it was not my idea. Professor Flitwick saw me make a catch during my flying lesson, and that was it. I'm lucky I wasn't punished, although I'm sure who I am didn't hurt. I certainly didn't demand anything."

"I'm surprised you weren't made Seeker if you fly as well as you handled that Snitch at King's Cross." Cho reddened at her inadvertent admission.

"You saw that? Well, I was just lucky Jorgensen was only staying on the team because there wasn't anyone else available. Besides, Stevens has _that_ position, and I did hear the captain and Professor Flitwick mention that you were pretty good yourself," Harry said with a grin.

"Oh, I'm glad I was mistaken then," said Cho, smiling shyly. She looked past Harry for a moment –- towards the Quidditch Pitch in the background –- before turning her attention back to him with an idea in mind. "Even though I couldn't join the team, I got permission to watch practice last year. I always fly for a bit afterward, once the team is finished. They won't let me use the school Snitch, but it's still fun to get up in the air. And this year I got to bring my own broom!" She motioned to the Comet Two-Sixty in her hands. "Care to join me?"

"Well," Harry looked down at his blue Quidditch robes for a moment. "That sounds really nice, but I think I'd better get changed first. Sutcliffe would kill me if someone caught a glimpse of me in these before we play Hufflepuff."

Realization flooded over the older Ravenclaw. "You're right," Cho gasped. "What was I thinking holding you up right out here in the open? Go change, quickly!" She grabbed a hold of Harry's robes and pulled him along the end of the pitch and into the Ravenclaw locker room, making sure to let out a low whistle only after the door closed behind Harry. She leaned back against the closed door and gave a wistful sigh before walking back towards the pitch with a bright smile on her face.

By the time Harry exited the locker room, Cho was already up in the air zooming around the hoops of the fifty-foot-tall poles on the far end of the pitch. He took a second to admire her enthusiastic aerial work, before placing his cloak down on top of hers that was resting on the lawn and launching into the air after her on the Cleansweep Seven he'd been flying on during practice. It was a slight improvement from the normal school brooms; it was one of the few brooms that Ravenclaw House owned for the rare occasions a team member did not have their own broomstick available to use.

A couple of warm up laps around the pitch soon dissolved into games of tag between Harry and Cho. For the next few moments, their laughter and exuberance filled the skies over Hogwarts. As the sun began to set –- signaling that their time in the air that day had come to an end –- Harry and Cho slowed their brooms to a steady downward float towards their cloaks. Harry figured this would be an ideal moment to see if Cho could help to put his wandering mind at ease.

"Cho," said Harry, turning his head to his flying partner as they gently landed on the lawn. "Why would Gringotts be hiring?"

"Gringotts hiring?" repeated a slightly startled Cho. "I don't think the goblins would be hiring wizards anytime soon after what happened during the summer."

"Something happened?" asked Harry, picking up his cloak and handing Cho hers.

"Yeah, didn't you hear about it?" replied Cho. "It was all over the Daily Prophet last month, Harry. Having such a breakdown in security, and someone crazy enough to attempt it, I never understood how they were able to keep it quiet for weeks after the fact."

"So you're telling me someone tried to break into Gringotts this summer?" asked an astonished Harry.

"Basically," answered Cho, "and they got away with it. I think that's the most surprising aspect of the whole mess. The goblins didn't release any information on what they tried to steal, only that the vault in question had been emptied earlier that same day."

Harry knew that Gringotts was regarded as one of the safest places in the wizarding world, save for Hogwarts. He wondered if there was any connection to the attempted robbery and the sudden appearance of that giant three-headed dog in Hogwarts.

* * *

Adding Quidditch practices –- that happened at least twice a week –- along with flying with Cho afterwards to Harry's class schedule kept him so busy that it surprised him when he woke up to find it was Halloween one morning. He had been at Hogwarts for two months. Harry was finally feeling that he knew the castle pretty well; he couldn't remember the last time he had gotten lost on his way to class. Most of his classes were beginning to get interesting as lessons moved away from the introductory basics that the first years must learn first. 

Living at Hogwarts was different from home for Harry. He did miss not having his family constantly around him, his only contact with them were the letters they exchanged on a near daily basis. He had exchanged being surrounded by siblings, with surrounding himself with his friends. Most of the time Daphne, Hannah or Ron would be found at his side depending on the class he was attending. Usually Harry would be with Nym or Fred and George Weasley during detentions and of his housemates, Penelope, Padma and Terry Boot were among some of the Ravenclaws he talked to frequently, not forgetting Cho and the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

Waking up to the aroma of fresh pumpkin pie in the air reminded Harry of previous Halloweens spent with his family, and the pies that his mum and aunts would help the house-elves bake. For the walk down for breakfast, the grin on Harry's face grew wider the closer he got to the Great Hall. By the time Harry sat down and helped himself to a few helpings of pie, owls began swooping down into the hall, dropping packages to their recipients. Landing on the table right next to Harry's plate was his beautiful snowy owl, Hedwig, a letter tied to her leg.

"Hello girl," greeted Harry, putting down his fork and reaching over to release the owl of her burden. Hedwig moved forward and stuck her leg out, aiding Harry's cause.

Once Harry had removed the letter, Hedwig brushed his hand with her wing before moving to his plate where she began to peck at his remaining pieces of pie. Harry turned the envelope over to see the Potter Black seal, and quickly opened it to reveal a letter from his father.

_Happy Halloween, Harry!_

_I'm slowly bringing your mum around on the Quidditch agenda. I know your first match is coming up shortly, but unfortunately you'll have to use a school broom. I've already spoken with your headmaster and Head of House about it. When you come home for Winter Break, we'll go to Diagon Alley and pick out a broom of your own at QQS. How does that sound?_

_I can't say that the weekly owl from Hogwarts listing your detentions is helping matters. (I don't think we Marauders set a pace that steady until our third year!) Keep up with the pranking though, I have to show you this deck of Exploding Snap that I rigged up. When it exploded, Sirius's hair caught fire and it couldn't be put out for hours. He still has a grumpy look on his face whenever he looks my way, but it was worth it! Your aunts, Andromeda and Narcissa have been taking the mickey out of him on a daily basis since._

_Everyone misses you son. They can't wait to see you for Christmas. Bonnie's been hanging out a lot lately with your little quill pal Ginny Weasley. It has become rare to see those two apart, either here at the estate or over at the Weasleys. It's good to see, I know she's missing both you and Daphne. You three had been inseparable ever since Daphne's mum started working for the family._

_Anyway, good luck with your first game against Hufflepuff. Pay attention in practice and learn how to fly with your fellow chasers. That's the most important aspect when starting out, Harry. As you gain experience against competition, your talent will naturally shine through and you'll make all your fans swoon I bet!_

_Love,_

_Dad_

Harry smiled to himself as he folded up the letter and put it away in his book bag. Getting up from his seat at the Ravenclaw table, Harry sent Hedwig back to the Owlery, and waved to Nym before he caught up to a passing Ron heading out of the Great Hall towards their mutual class, Transfiguration.

Unfortunately for Harry, the good feelings that the morning had brought would not last. They arrived to class slightly late after being delayed –- and nearly derailed –- by a giant gelatinous ball that Fred and George pushed down a busy corridor that forced everyone walking by to dive out of its path. Entering the classroom they quickly sat in the nearest open seats. Ron ended up next to Hermione, who was the recipient of a groan once Ron realized where he had sat down. Harry sat down in the seat right behind Ron, next to a blonde Gryffindor girl he recognized as a friend of Padma Patil's sister. The girl turned pink and mumbled a hello at Harry's greeting.

Once the students had settled down, Professor McGonagall announced that she felt they had all made excellent progress with their current assignments and as a treat had decided to show them something new. She placed two items on her desk: a rubber duck and a potted plant.

"Class, here we have a Muggle rubber duck," McGonagall said, pointing to the small yellow object. "As well as a plant I borrowed from Professor Sprout's Herbology Greenhouses. The spell I will be showing you today is not one you will be learning until later in your Hogwarts career. This is an example of how easily things can be done with proper practice and experience."

McGonagall moved far enough away from her desk so that the entire class could see both objects clearly before proceeding to wave her wand at the duck and plant. Both items shimmered and shifted right before the students' eyes. The rubber duck lost its bill and sprouted branches all over its body, while the plant hardly resembled a plant anymore. It was now only a single stem with the missing duckbill connected to it.

"Now what is the proper term for the Transfiguration technique I just used?" McGonagall questioned the class.

Harry recognized the spell right away having seen his Uncle Remus use it on his godfather quite a few times around the dinner table. He raised his hand at the same time as Hermione Granger, but McGonagall chose the closer student, Hermione.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" said McGonagall.

"Professor, you used a Switching Spell on the items," answered Hermione. "You didn't create anything new, or physically change the object. The spell basically makes it possible to replace an item or a piece of an item with another that exists elsewhere."

"That is correct, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall.

Hermione beamed up at McGonagall but the smile quickly left her face when she turned to Ron and was greeted with a scowl. McGonagall continued with the demonstration, transfiguring the objects on the desk to different shapes and sizes, creating new situations to show off the Switching Spell. Harry was a little put out at not getting the opportunity to earn points, but as the class went on he forgot all about it. The same couldn't be said for Ron, whose sour mood hadn't changed by the end of class.

"Can you believe her?!" Ron exclaimed loudly as he squeezed between Harry and Lavender, the girl Harry had sat next to during class, not too gently pushing the girl out of Harry's space.

"Erm, what?" Harry asked distractedly as he helplessly watched Lavender get lost in the bustle of the crowd of students.

"Hermione. She's a nightmare, that's what," Ron answered emphatically, waving his hands about. "Nobody can stand her. Why do you think the seat next to her was empty?"

"C'mon Ron, she —" Harry was cut off when someone knocked him aside as they hurried past. Seeing Hermione's teary face caused Harry to frown. "I think she heard you."

"So?" Ron replied, refusing to meet Harry's eyes. "It's not my fault she has no friends." Ron quickly muttered a half-hearted goodbye and turned down the next corridor, disappearing amongst the crowd.

* * *

When the time arrived for the Halloween Feast to start, Harry still hadn't seen Hermione again. He curiously made his way to the Gryffindor table, moving past some of the more elaborate Halloween decorations that were put up by the Hogwarts Staff: bats fluttering about the Great Hall, as well as spiders the size of baby Aromantulas crawling along the walls. 

Harry didn't find Hermione, but did discover Ron sitting quietly beside his boisterous twin brothers. He stopped in his tracks when he passed a conversation that fellow first year Gryffindors Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were having.

"— and she wouldn't come out of the stall," finished Lavender.

"That's horrible," replied Parvati, as she finished loading food onto her plate. "She's going to miss out on this wonderful feast."

"Are you girls talking about Hermione?" asked Harry as he squeezed himself in between Lavender and some older Gryffindor boy he didn't recognize.

"Oh, hi Harry," greeted Lavender, turning in her seat to look at him. "Yes, poor Hermione has been crying her eyes out all day."

"She hasn't been to any classes since Charms this morning," added Parvati. "It's so unlike her to miss class."

"Well, Ron wasn't really thinking this morning," replied Harry awkwardly.

"Weasley was the cause?" Lavender asked incredulously. "We've been here two months and everyone knows he doesn't think before he speaks, you'd think Hermione would know better than to care what he thinks."

"I suppose everyone still has plenty to learn when it comes to life," conceded Harry, taking a sip from his goblet.

Parvati was about to reply when the doors to the Great Hall slammed open and Professor Quirrell sprinted inside, his turban askew and his face full of terror.

All the students in the Great Hall fell silent as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumping over the table. "There's a troll … in the dungeons!" he gasped. "I thought you should know."

As Quirrell fainted, the students rose from their seats in a panic. Girls screamed and everyone started to scramble frantically for the doors. Professor Dumbledore leapt into action, letting out a series of loud pops from his wand spraying the area with sparks, getting the attention of the students.

"ATTENTION!" Dumbledore's voice easily carried through the now silent Great Hall. "Head students and Prefects please guide your house back to their dormitories in an orderly fashion."

Professor Dumbledore turned his attention to the Hogwarts staff standing up from their seats around the Head Table. "We shall approach the dungeons from all sides, should you encounter the troll do not initiate contact! Send out sparks or a messenger spell depending on your location and wait for assistance, provided there is no eminent danger."

All the professors solemnly nodded their heads at Dumbledore's words, pulling out their wands as they moved to leave the slowly emptying Great Hall.

In the slow departing line of Gryffindor students, Harry tuned out Lavender and Parvati's nervous chatter, instead he was thinking up ways of sneaking across to the line of his own departing housemates before they got too far away. Ready to make his dash across the hall, Ron passed through Harry's peripheral vision, reminding Harry something he had forgotten with the Troll hysteria.

"_Hermione_!" The sudden exclamation from Harry startled an older male Gryffindor in front of him. Ignoring the odd look he got, Harry pushed his way through the crowd, finally reaching Ron and pulling the surprised Weasley behind the very next suit of armor they passed.

"Harry?" asked a startled Ron. "Why'd you go and do that for?" Ron waved at the piece of pie he was now wearing on his uniform thanks to Harry's brisk retrieval.

"Hermione, Ron," stated Harry as if it was the most obvious answer.

Ron's ears reddened a bit at her name. "What about her?" he asked warily.

"Lavender and Parvati told me she's been in the bathroom all day _crying_," Ron flinched at Harry's tone. "There's no way she knows about the troll in the dungeons. We have to go warn her."

Ron looked like he was about to refuse, if not for the pointed look from Harry. He sighed and turned to look if anyone had seen them stop. "Fine, Harry," he said softly, "but Percy better not catch us!"

Despite the caution of the two boys, their departure did not escape the notice of a concerned pair of hazel eyes.


	12. Trolling Around

Author's Note: I've been working on this chapter for the last two weeks and I'm hoping to bring a much steadier publishing rate in the future. Thanks to Nightwing 509 and darkcelestial20 for their reviews. I appreciate the time you took to comment.

**Chapter Twelve - Trolling Around**

Harry smirked while he led Ron down the dark corridor. Their departure from the crowd of students was easier then expected and their journey towards the girls' bathroom was mostly quiet. The amusement quickly disappeared off Harry's face when they nearly ran right into the path of the Hogwarts Potions Master, Severus Snape.

Snape crossed the corridor just a few feet in front of where Harry and Ron had stopped and proceeded up the nearby staircase. They waited a few moments, listening carefully for Snape's fading footsteps before continuing toward their destination.

"That was close," commented Harry.

"I'll say," replied Ron. "Shouldn't Snape be heading towards the dungeons instead? As horrible as he is, that is his territory and you'd think he'd want to protect it."

Harry felt a slight twinge of worry for Daphne –- the Slytherin common rooms were near the dungeons — but he pushed it down to focus on where they were going. "Must be something important," was all Harry said before turning the next corner.

"Ugh," Harry grunted before coming to a halt, causing Ron to run into his back.

"What is that smell?" asked Ron. He quickly followed Harry's example and brought a hand up to his nose to try and shut out the awkward stench that lingered in the corridor.

Harry's reply was drowned out by a burst of loud grunting that besieged their ears. Their attention was immediately drawn to the far end of the hallway, where a giant shadowy figure lumbered its way in their direction.

As the figure emerged from the shadows, Harry and Ron immediately recognized the lurking creature as a troll -- the troll Professor Quirrell had said was in the dungeons. Fear growing on their faces, the boys exchanged quizzical looks. They were nowhere near the dungeons and with a castle the size of Hogwarts there was no way the troll could've moved areas that quickly.

The troll was a large beast –- it filled nearly the entire corridor at roughly twelve feet tall –- its large arms dragged a huge wooden club along the floor as it moved down the hall. The boys shrank back as much as they physically could into the shadows along the wall as the troll neared. The once awkward stench was quickly becoming a down-right foul one.

The troll seemed to hesitate at the open doorway halfway down the corridor. It tilted its head from side to side as if trying to judge its worth. After a few tense moments, the troll made its decision and stepped noisily through the doorway.

"Bloody hell! Let's get out of here, Harry," said Ron, turning around to go back the way they had come. "That was too close for comfort."

"No," replied Harry, stopping Ron in his tracks.

"What do you mean no?" asked Ron, a hint of impatience on his face.

"Let's close that door first," Harry answered quietly, creeping towards the open doorway. "I don't know how that troll got inside Hogwarts in the first place, but nobody knows that it's not in the dungeons. A closed door will certainly give us more time to find help and keep anyone from running into that thing."

Ron smiled shakily. "You sure don't do things in halves, do you?"

Harry just shrugged and waited for Ron to make his decision. The redhead took a deep breath and marched right up to Harry's side, and began to help pull on the door. It creaked slightly and its rusty hinges fought against the movement, but the boys' persistence paid off as it soon closed with a large slam that echoed throughout the hall.

Harry and Ron both jumped back from the door and quickly scurried down the hall, intent on putting as much distance as they could between themselves and the troll. The urgency of the situation made itself known to the young wizards when a frantic, high-pitched scream reached their ears, bringing both boys to a stumbling halt.

"That couldn't be …" Harry trailed off as he turned to meet Ron's gaze. There was only one logical choice and the danger was too much to be denied.

"Hermione," Ron confirmed quietly.

"There's no time to run back for help," Harry said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two multi-colored packages from inside his robes.

"What are those?" asked Ron.

"Just some explosive pranks I had been hoping to use on Malfoy soon," Harry shrugged, handing the packages over so Ron could read the label. "Now these will help us distract that troll and get to Hermione."

"Fireworks." Realization hit Ron and he began to look at the packs in his hands with a gaze of adoration and awe.

Harry shrugged and grabbed one of the packs from Ron's hands. "I can always get more." Using his wand, Harry ran it along the marked areas of the pack, igniting it. A slight hum began to emanate from the package and it grew louder with every passing second as the pack expanded in size. Harry took aim and threw the package down the corridor as hard as he could back towards the main part of the castle. The two boys watched as the package of fireworks skidded along the floor before disappearing from their line of sight.

Moments later the fireworks escaped their containment and explosions followed, alerting the rest of the castle. Harry and Ron took a moment to appreciate the small flashes from the fireworks explosions that would pop into their view.

"Fred and George are going to be so jealous when they hear about this," Ron said, sharing a grin with Harry.

The mood was quickly broken by the loud thrashing that was taking place inside the room where Hermione and the troll were.

"Let's hope you still feel that way at the end of the night, Ron."

The two boys made their way to the closed door and began frantically pulling on the handle. As tough as the door was to shut, it seemed even more impossible to open it. Harry's hands were beginning to hurt and Ron's face was bright red from intensity when the door finally gave way and sprang open.

Harry and Ron barely had a chance to catch their breath before the sounds coming from inside forced them to rush in. Crossing into the girls' bathroom, they were greeted with a terrifying image. Hermione Granger, smart and stubborn Gryffindor, was shrinking against the back wall in fright. She didn't look much bigger than a house-elf at that point, but she hadn't been able to escape the view of the steadily approaching troll.

The bathroom itself looked no better. It was almost as if the Hogwarts Express had gone right through it, several times over. Entire stalls were collapsed, sinks were torn off the walls and water was flooding the entire room from the broken pipes littered throughout. It was clear that Hermione had not always been hiding against the wall. Her hair and face seemed to be caked with debris and some blood while her normally pristine uniform was torn and disheveled.

Harry quickly realized Hermione's attention wouldn't be drawn away from the terror in front of her and knew they'd have to split up. "Get to Hermione!"

Pulling out their wands, Ron nodded while Harry moved to cut off the troll's path, launching a Confundus Charm at it. The results were unimpressive as it was either Harry's lack of power, or the troll's size, that caused the spell to do nothing more than make the troll hesitate briefly. A second later it merely shook its head in an attempt to clear it.

Ron used the moment of distraction to run over to the corner of the bathroom where Hermione was cowering and try to coax her out. Getting no response from the witch, Ron quickly moved past the coercing stage and grabbed the shivering girl's arm, pulling her up. Knowing their time was limited, Ron began to drag her across the room as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately Harry's tactic only bought them a moment of time as the troll quickly recovered, roaring as he swung his club down at Harry. Harry dove to the side –- knocking into Ron –- falling hard to the stone floor. Ron threw a fallen piece of metal pipe at the troll, but it bounced off harmlessly. The troll didn't react to the impact other than turning around to face the three students.

"Just lovely," replied Harry. Seeing no other alternative, Harry rose from his spot on the floor and rushed at the troll. Sliding through the legs of the troll, he lit his final pack of fireworks, intending to leave the pack right beneath the creature. "Move!" he implored to Ron and Hermione.

Hermione was still in a frozen state of shock and didn't seem to know what was happening anymore let alone hear the demand from Harry. Ron grabbed her firmly and began dragging her once again, but her resistance slowed them enough that they reacquired the attention of the troll.

Harry frowned but didn't want to leave his position behind the troll until the fireworks were ready to explode. Unfortunately it seems there were a few duds in this package as it expanded at a much lesser rate than the earlier one. Seeing the troll ready to take a swing aimed at Ron and Hermione, Harry could only shut his eyes and cringe at the thought of what was about to happen.

Realizing he was on his own, Ron yelled "_Wingardium Leviosa_" and waved his wand as the troll swung down with its club, only to bring down an empty hand. It looked questioningly at its hand before looking up in the air to see the club hovering slightly above its head. The troll stared at it in fascination for mere moments before it came crashing down on its head. The blow didn't knock out the troll but did cause it to clumsily stumble away from the Gryffindors.

Fearful for the two Gryffindors, Harry had recklessly shut his eyes, only to open them moments later to see the huge troll staggering backwards towards him. Unknowingly in his effort to stay behind the troll, Harry had blocked himself in and he quickly realized that he was in a tough spot and the popping sounds and sparks that were emanating from the now hot package of fireworks in his hand reminded him of this. Harry quickly dropped the pack on the floor before his hand could get burned and moved to climb the last standing sink in an effort to get out of the area.

In an effort to steady itself, the troll reached blindly for the last remaining stall only to have it crumble on contact. With no support the troll finally lost its balance and fell wildly backwards, swinging its arms blindly -- knocking Harry down from the sink -- before landing on top of the package of fireworks.

_BOOM!_

The fireworks exploded on impact launching the troll into the air and right back down on to the debris-filled floor. The room was quickly flooded with a giant cloud of dust that mingled with the various pops and flashes of blinding light from the fireworks.

"Harry!" yelled Ron. He moved towards the rubble but Hermione suddenly squeezed his hand tightly caused him to hesitate. Before he could register the significance of Hermione's response, the door to the girls' bathroom burst open. A group of people entered the room in a flurry. Leading the way was Professor Flitwick, followed quickly by fellow professors: McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell. Trailing behind them all but looking more worried than all of them was Ravenclaw Prefect Penelope Clearwater.

Professor Flitwick quickly pulled out his wand and cleared the air of the effects of the fireworks with a wave of the wand. Professor McGonagall quickly crossed the room and cornered the two Gryffindors ready to reprimand them when Ron interrupted her.

"Please, Professor," pleaded Ron. "Harry got trapped between the troll and the wall. He was right there when the fireworks went off. He's under all that." Hermione's haunted eyes did not move from the pile of debris in the back of the room where the troll was.

A look of horror grew on the Transfiguration teacher's face as she turned to face the rest of the room. Professor Flitwick quickly scurried over to the debris pile and levitated the troll to a free part of the room, where Snape bent over to check its condition. Penelope aided Flitwick in moving the rest of the debris, until finally they unearthed Harry.

"Oh, Harry! Can you hear me?" asked Penelope as she knelt down to the boy and searched for his pulse. Flitwick turned away for a moment and sent off a messenger spell out of the room.

"Is Potter alright?" asked McGonagall from her spot, where she stood consoling a distraught Hermione while a ghostly-white Ron looked on.

"He has a low pulse, and he's breathing," replied Penelope as she ran her hands through Harry's hair trying to calm her own nerves. "He definitely has a lot of bruising, and possibly some broken bones. A concussion is a large possibility but I'm just guessing."

"Your guesses are better than most, Miss Clearwater," replied Flitwick as he looked on at the two of his own house. "I'm sure Poppy will be here shortly to confirm your theory and we'll get young Mr. Potter on the road of recovery before you know it."

The tension had left the room after Penelope's amateur diagnosis. Most of the adults let out a sigh of relief. Quirrell seemed to have no idea what was going on as he just stared silently at the troll, while Snape's sneer seemed to grow at an intensity that only a Potter could bring out.

Very shortly the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, arrived and confirmed that Harry had not sustained any injuries that were fatal or permanent. With that confirmation everyone seemed to jolt back into reality and begin to move. Snape and Quirrell decided to wait in the bathroom for Dumbledore's arrival, while Flitwick and a tearful Penelope followed Madam Pomfrey and a levitated Harry down the halls toward the Hospital Wing. That left Ron and Hermione –- after receiving satisfactory bills of health from Madam Pomfrey –- to be escorted by McGonagall back to the Gryffindor common room.

"What on Earth were you thinking?" asked Professor McGonagall. "Why were you not waiting in your dormitories with your fellow Gryffindors? Facing down a troll is dangerous business for any wizard, _especially_ for inexperienced students. If Miss Clearwater hadn't been so observant--"

"Professor," squeaked Hermione Granger. Evidence of the girl's terrifying ordeal was plainly seen on her wet cheeks. "It's completely my fault. They were only looking for me."

In the many years that Professor McGonagall had been a teacher at Hogwarts not many students could claim in their time there that they had seen a shocked McGonagall. But on this deadly Halloween night, the two Gryffindor first years had been witness to two such moments; once when the professor had entered the girls' bathroom, and just now at Hermione's response.

"Miss Granger!" exclaimed McGonagall; her unbelieving eyes rapidly searched the young girl's face for any sign of deceit.

"I-I-I went looking for the troll …" Hermione stated as clearly as she could. "I've read about them … and I thought I could handle it on my own."

Ron stumbled a bit at Hermione's claim, but was able to catch himself before he hit the floor. As he steadied himself he gave Hermione a very bewildered look, unable to comprehend why she was lying to their Head of House.

Hermione didn't notice Ron's misstep and neither did Professor McGonagall, both enthralled with Hermione's revelation. The young witch continued to talk, revealing the heroics Harry and Ron had accomplished in the bathroom against the troll.

"Miss Granger, that was very reckless of you," said McGonagall after a few moments of silence. "I'm very disappointed in your actions tonight. You not only put yourself in harm but also the well-being of your fellow classmates. That will be fifteen points from Gryffindor, and a future detention that will be scheduled at my discretion. I suggest you both return to the common room and get cleaned up, the students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Professor McGonagall gently patted Hermione's shoulder before turning her attention towards Ron. "Mr. Weasley," she said. "You may very well be the luckiest first year I've ever met. It was foolhardy to have taken on a mountain troll, yet you did and came out unscathed, ten points to Gryffindor. I will now go check on Mr. Potter and award him points as well. I think he could use some good news." In a rare moment of expression, McGonagall gave Ron a shaky smile before moving past him.

It was a long silent walk to the Gryffindor common room with only the chatter of the gossiping portraits echoing throughout the corridors they passed. Once inside, Ron and Hermione quickly moved to fill their plates. Hermione sat down at the end of one table to eat her meal alone as she usually did, while Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, two of Ron's roommates, were waving at Ron to come sit with them while they played a game of Exploding Snap.

To their surprise, Ron just smiled and shook his head at them before sitting down right across from Hermione. She looked up with a surprised face, causing Ron's ears to turn red before he muttered nonsense about the room being warmer in that spot and that he had been cold.

* * *

The terrifying fact that a troll gained access to Hogwarts brought a level of danger and excitement to Hogwarts that the portraits residing inside had not witnessed in many years, not since an incident involving the infamous Marauders and a Slytherin student. While the rest of the school was secure in their dorms or dealing with the troll, the portraits found themselves amidst the madness and did their best to catch it all. From the sudden exclamation by the nervous Defense Professor and the fireworks going off in the stairwell, to the group of professors dashing madly in that direction, it was a night that would surely never end. 

The aftermath of troll incident made it clear to the portraits that the place to be was near the Hospital Wing. Having the Boy-Who-Lived injured guaranteed that the Hospital Wing would be inundated with visitors for the rest of the boy's stay. And this proved to be true. Minutes following Madam Pomfrey's arrival with an unconscious Harry Potter and a teary Penelope Clearwater came a flustered Professor Flitwick leading the boy's parents, James and Lily Potter. The chatter among the portraits only increased when Flitwick exited shortly after and scurried away, only to return this time with Nymphadora Black who had her arms around a pale Daphne Greengrass.

It was only when Albus Dumbledore made his way towards the Hospital Wing that the portraits became silent. It was such a drastic change that it even made the aged Headmaster stop in his trot and look around curiously at the portraits. A raised eyebrow brought blushing portraits abashed at being caught in their element. Their curiosity quickly won over their embarrassment.

"What happened, Headmaster?"

"Was it really a troll?"

"Is the poor boy alright?"

Dumbledore raised his hand to quiet the inquiries. "There was a scare tonight, my friends, but you will be happy to hear that Hogwarts is safe once again. Harry is in good hands, and it was his bravery and intuitiveness that helped save his friends' lives."

The portraits absorbed the information eagerly and were off to other portraits to share the information the moment Dumbledore stopped speaking. Seeing the empty portraits, the Headmaster smiled with a little twinkle in his eyes, confidence growing that the whole castle would soon know that Harry Potter still lived and was a hero yet again.

* * *

It proved to be a long night for the occupants of the Hospital Wing. The sun rose across the skies above Hogwarts and a nervous tension had built in the room before Madam Pomfrey finally deemed it safe to rouse Harry from his unconscious state. Lily Potter had gravitated to her son the second she entered the room and that was the reason Harry found himself in her arms as he awoke. He leaned back into her embrace, letting his mother smother him with kisses and cry while the events of the previous night took their effect on him. 

Seeing his son yawn, James spoke up. "We've been waiting all night for you, son. No more beauty sleep for you."

Harry's eyes cast about the room looking at the group surrounding his bed. He was slightly surprised to find Professors Flitwick and Dumbledore in the room as well, hovering just behind everyone else. Harry also noticed his bed was the only one occupied.

"Ron and Hermione?" asked Harry groggily.

"They're both doing fine, Harry," answered Dumbledore. Despite his distance, Dumbledore's gentle voice reached Harry easily. "Both were sent on their way last night. Outside of that experience they only had a few bruises and scrapes, nothing too serious. You weren't as lucky."

"Hannah?" prompted Harry.

"She's worried sick in our common room," answered Nym. She gave a slight frown and glanced at the two Professors before turning back to Harry. "_Some_ felt your visitors should be limited to our household."

"I think there are more than enough visitors in here already, Miss Black," interjected Madam Pomfrey as she continued to monitor Harry.

Nym stuck out her tongue at the nurse. "How are you feeling, flyboy?" she asked from her spot at the foot of Harry's bed. Nym hugged her knees close to her body while keeping her gaze squarely on Harry.

"I'm fine, outside of the fact my body feels like the Knight Bus hit me when I wasn't looking," joked Harry.

Daphne shifted from her position next to Nym, lifting her head slightly from where it was resting on the older girl's shoulder. "I'm glad you're up. It was scary just seeing you lie there."

Nym pulled the younger girl closer to her while Harry reached out and squeezed Daphne's hand. "I'm not going anywhere, Daphne."

"We were so scared when Filius called over the Floo," Lily said, tightening her hold on Harry. "Just what were you thinking charging about against a troll, young man?"

"I was just trying to do the right thing, Mum," said Harry. "There was no reason to think that we'd run into the troll. Professor Quirrell said it was in the dungeons, and we were no where near there."

"That's no excuse for not informing someone on what you and Ron were planning on doing," James interjected as he ruffled his son's hair. "It was lucky your Prefect friend here noticed that you were missing and quickly passed the news to your Head of House and the rest of the teaching staff."

Harry turned his head to see Penelope Clearwater sitting on the bed next to his. Her eyes were red from crying and her mussed up hair showed that she hadn't left his side all night. A small smile and shrug let him know that she was just glad he was okay and that they would talk later.

"Honestly, Dad, the last thing we had in mind was confronting the troll. When we heard Hermione scream, we knew we had to do something," Harry answered, imploring his parents to understand his plight.

His son's steadfast attitude made James chuckle. "It's a good thing you're a Potter, Harry. Only one of us would be lucky enough to only get a knock on the head and a few bruises after facing impossible odds. And you won't miss your first Quidditch match either!" Father and son couldn't help but share a grin at that last bit of news.

Lily let out a frustrated groan. "Our son just confronted a troll, got injured, and you're already talking about Quidditch?!"

Nym and Daphne shared a fond look and started giggling at the sight of the Potters.


	13. Quidditch

Author's Note: This one took awhile to produce and as a result is the longest chapter of this series to date. Thanks to Nightwing 509, Morgaine00000016, darkcelestial20, and NInjAlt for their reviews. I appreciate the time you took to comment.

**Chapter Thirteen - Quidditch**

Moving into November, life would get easier for Harry Potter. The rocky events of Halloween seemed to stir his legend even more as his heroics had somehow leaked to the Daily Prophet. It was one of the situations the Potters knew could be possible with Harry living at Hogwarts but they had inwardly wished it would never come to pass. As expected they weren't too happy about the press the troll incident was getting and tried to use the power of Potter Black, Inc. to focus the media's attention towards the intrusion of the troll, mostly unsuccessful attempts.

Harry's stay in the Hospital Wing ended up lasting less than one day, as he was released in time for dinner that night. James and Lily stayed the first few hours past his awakening, leaving only once they were satisfied that their son was going to be okay, which seemed evident when conversations turned towards Quidditch. Classes were cancelled for the entire day while the Hogwarts staff and Filch fixed up the areas of the castle torn up by the wayward troll. Harry benefited from the cleared schedules as his friends filtered in and out of the Hospital Wing throughout the day thanks to lightened restrictions from Madam Pomfrey as well.

Despite returning to classes the following day, Harry's mind constantly strayed to the Hospital Wing Quidditch talk he had with his dad as the month of November signaled the start of the Hogwarts Quidditch season. Gryffindor and Slytherin faced off during the first weekend, and Harry -- along with the rest of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that showed up -- rooted for Gryffindor to come out with the victory. The Gryffindor team looked great outside of the play of their new Seeker, a shaky second-year who looked like they had just grabbed him off the stands. The Slytherin team liked to use brute force in their matches and used the Gryffindor Seeker's inexperience to their advantage as their own Seeker, Terence Higgs, proceeded to constantly lure the second year player out of position. Every other facet of the match was dominated by the smooth playing Gryffindors, but when Higgs wrapped his hand around the Snitch to end the game, they had not racked up enough points to offset the catch, resulting in Slytherin winning 170-160. Snape was extremely boastful after that match.

Harry felt for Fred and George's bad luck, but didn't dwell long on his friends' loss, as his Ravenclaw Quidditch team was scheduled to play the very next Saturday, against Hufflepuff. With a win, Ravenclaw would take a significant step in the house championship standings because of the Gryffindor loss. No one outside of those involved with thee Ravenclaw Quidditch team had seen Harry play because both Professor Flitwick and the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, David Sutcliffe, agreed that having the element of surprise would give them an early advantage in their first match.

Surprisingly only the Ravenclaws knew of Harry's position as the team's Chaser, even though news that Harry was somehow involved with the Quidditch team had quickly spread throughout Hogwarts. Rumors were rampant that Harry was the new Seeker; that Harry had bewitched Flitwick into letting him onto the team, or even that Flitwick was actually going to play and was planning to use Polyjuice Potion to look like Harry. Most of the crude rumors originated from the bitter Draco Malfoy and the Slytherins that took after their spiteful Head of House. Some of the rumors even made it into the Daily Prophet gossip section, which made Harry quite thankful he'd had the foresight to tell his family when he first joined the team.

The day before the match found Harry with limited options for company. The Gryffindors were still licking their wounds, the Slytherins stalked through the halls like they owned the castle and the Hufflepuffs had put on their game faces in anticipation for the weekend's match. That is how he found himself sitting outside in the courtyard, sharing a blanket between Penelope Clearwater and Nym Black, who despite her house loyalty wouldn't stay away from Harry. The cold weather had brought out the blanket, which Penelope was quick to add a warming charm to once it was in place over the unique threesome.

After his stay in the Hospital Wing, it quickly became apparent to Harry that both Penelope and Nym were finding ways into his life on a daily basis. Not that Harry minded one bit, they did help take his mind off the pressures of secretly practicing with the Quidditch team and his studying went a lot quicker when he had two friends who'd already experienced a similar course load.

Penelope was currently going over her last Defense assignment that was due the following week, while Harry quietly read through Nym's slightly battered copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages. _He had read it before hundreds of times already prior to Hogwarts, but it was the one thing he could do at the moment that came the closest to calming his nerves about the next day's match. Nym had quite comfortably snuggled herself against Harry and followed along with the reading, adding her own commentary to every page and never failing to get Harry to at least crack a smile or roll his eyes.

The relaxed atmosphere Nym helped create lost some of its tranquility when into the courtyard stalked Severus Snape. His sneer was clearly visible even from across the courtyard where Harry sat, and as the Potions Master surveyed the group of students scattered around outside, the sneer grew larger. Snape's gaze lingered on Harry and his friends, his leer receiving three heated glares in return. The moment wouldn't end soon enough for the three students and they let out a collective sigh of relief once Snape's attention moved elsewhere.

The group watched warily as Snape turned and limped across the courtyard –- passing Percy Weasley who had oddly passed by their own location quite a few times already –- following where Snape's path was leading. Harry noticed Ron and Hermione were who Snape was heading towards. The two Gryffindors huddled together trying to hide a bluish object behind their backs with the approaching professor nearing.

Harry knew that his Gryffindor friends were not going to get a moment of peace with Snape around. Apparently the Quidditch win over Gryffindor hadn't quenched Snape's thirst of Gryffindor misery. Trying to save his friends from a headache, Harry moved to yell in Snape's direction when a soft hand clamped around his mouth, preventing any sound from getting out.

"Now that's just looking for trouble, Harry," answered Nym, her hand the one covering Harry's lips.

Harry watched silently while Snape berated the two Gryffindors. If Ron turning redder by the second was any indication, the professor's remarks were more than simple platitudes. By the time Snape reached the end of his rant, Hermione was visibly restraining Ron from removing his hand –- and presumably his wand –- out of his pocket.

"Snape is Snape, Harry," Nym said softly, looking closely at Harry as she moved her hand away from his mouth. "He's biased, and cruel. Why he is a professor when he can't stand being around students? I don't know. One thing I do know is that when it comes to Snape you're not thinking with your head, Harry. And when you act without thinking, you're letting him win. For the next seven years, you're going to be here, and he's going to be here, and that's not going to change. I know you're only eleven, and you shouldn't have to be the mature person in this situation, but if you're going to get back to having fun and not being in detention all the time you're going to have to let Snape have his shots sometimes."

Harry looked ready to object, but a stern glance from Penelope left Harry to only pout silently.

"That's more like it, Harry," laughed Nym. "Being prideful is important, but being smart and knowing when to fight your battles is even better. Keep that in mind and I won't have to remind you that you're supposed to be the Ravenclaw, not me, short stuff."

* * *

The Ravenclaw common room was buzzing with anticipation later that evening. Penelope and most of Harry's friends retired early, citing that the boisterous house wasn't conducive to getting any work done and that they'd rather sleep than just sit around idly. That left Harry –- who couldn't think of sleep with the way his stomach was fluttering with butterflies –- with a bunch of rowdy Quidditch fans that were in Ravenclaw, and the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, who seemed to enjoy the newfound attention that was rarely given to them due to being in a more study-oriented house. Harry had hoped to pass the time with Cho, who related better to him than the older Quidditch members –- she was only one year older than Harry –- but he hadn't seen her all night. 

Near curfew time that all changed when the common room portrait slid open to reveal a bedraggled looking and puffy-eyed Cho Chang. She stumbled into the common room unnoticed by most of the Ravenclaws still awake, except for Harry, who dropped the Quidditch gloves he was inspecting at the sight of his friend.

He quickly rose up from his cushy chair and grabbed Cho's wrist, gently guiding her back to where he was sitting. She flopped onto the chair exhaustedly while Harry chose to perch on the armrest, giving his full attention to Cho.

"What happened?" asked Harry. "You look like you crossed paths with a Lethifold."

Cho snorted pathetically at Harry's comment, the sound emerging more like a sob. "I had the _pleasure_ of Professor Snape assigning me detention for a potions accident I didn't cause but did get covered in. And I just spent the last hour in the bathroom rinsing out my hair because he wouldn't let me out without serving my detention. I wasn't in any danger according to him … I just smelled like I went for a dip in a pool of _Murtlap essence_." Despite the tears trickling down her wet cheeks, there was no hiding the anger Cho held for the Slytherin Head of House at the moment.

"Snape is a foul git," replied Harry, as he handed Cho a handkerchief he kept in his pocket. "At least your detention is over with and you won't miss the match tomorrow."

Cho smiled gratefully and used the handkerchief to wipe her face. "It looks like all those detentions you've had already this year have shown you how to look for the positive side of things, Harry. And you are right. I can't wait for tomorrow's match, I've been carrying my Omnioculars all day –-" Cho's hand stopped in mid-wipe as she fell silent and went completely still.

"What's wrong?" asked Harry. Concerned for Cho he pushed her hand away from her face, uncovering Cho's look of frustration.

"I can't believe it!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist down on the chair's only open armrest. "I was so stressed about detention that I forgot to repack my Omnioculars! My friend, Katie, wanted to look at the match I have recorded on it, so I brought it to class with me and now look at this mess. I don't want to deal with Professor Snape again!" Cho sighed heavily and slouched further down into the chair in an attempt to escape reality.

"Are you sure you left it in the dungeons?" questioned Harry.

"Yeah," Cho said quietly. Her gaze didn't move from her hands where she held Harry's Quidditch gloves. Grabbed in her frustration, she now held onto them like a lifeline.

Desperate to cheer up his friend, Harry took a chance. "I know what we can do, Cho. Just in case you missed it, how about you look inside the bathroom you used to rinse your hair, while I run down to the dungeons and see if I can sneak in and out without Snape even noticing I was there," he offered.

"Would you really do that?" asked a visibly brightening Cho. "It's so close to curfew though, I don't know if you'd make it all the way down there and back without getting in trouble."

"Let me worry about that, Cho," said Harry confidently. "I know this castle like the back of my hand." Harry then let out a shocked gasp as he turned over his hand, acting silly enough that Cho cracked a smile.

With Cho calmed down enough to check out the girls' bathroom, Harry set off in the direction of the staircases and his eventual destination, the dungeons. He only passed a handful of students on his journey, all older years that were in a hurry to get back to their own common rooms before curfew.

Finally reaching the potions classroom Harry found it to be empty and dark, save for a few candles that were just outside the door to Snape's office. After giving a short courtesy knock and not getting any response, Harry checked both directions of the hallway for any witnesses before stepping inside the dark classroom. He wasted no time in heading towards the table where Cho told him she worked at. Reaching her chair, Harry immediately found Cho's Omnioculars hanging off the back of it.

He quickly picked up the Omnioculars and rounded the table, heading back towards the classroom entrance. Passing by the door to Snape's office, Harry could hear faint voices coming from the other side of it. Taking a closer look, he quickly noticed that the door was slightly ajar and that there were at least two distinct voices coming from within Snape's office. With the time being so close to curfew, and the classroom so dark, Harry's conscience came into play. Whoever was in there didn't want anyone to know what they were up to. He decided to check out the situation and make sure it wasn't someone trying to vandalize Snape's office. The last thing Harry wanted was for Snape to have a reason to blame Cho or Ravenclaw House, especially with the upcoming match.

What Harry found on the other side of the door was worse than he could've imagined. Inside the office were Snape and Filch, very alone and agitated. Snape's robes were pulled up above his knees, revealing one leg that was covered in blood and looking slightly mangled. Filch was off to the side, handing Snape various sized bandages.

"Blasted mongrel," snapped Snape. "Could this night get any worse? First I had to give detention to that silly Ravenclaw, and then that beast decides to have a snack. How in blazes is one supposed to watch all three heads at once?"

Harry quickly caught on that this was a conversation he shouldn't be listening to so he tried to skillfully, close the office door –- only to catch Cho's Omnioculars between the door and the frame with a metal clang.

"POTTER!"

The caretaker's shout drew Harry's panicked gaze away from the Omnioculars. Filch's snarling face was quickly joined by Snape's agitated sneer as he quickly dropped his robes to conceal the leg injury.

Harry quickly jerked the Omnioculars away from the door and began to backpedal into the dark classroom. "I was just getting my friend's Omnioculars. She had left it —"

"GET OUT!" Snape shouted, causing Harry to stumble backwards to the floor.

Harry quickly scrambled up and scampered out of the classroom never looking back once. He wanted to get out of their sight before Snape or Filch got any cruel ideas.

Several floors later, Harry caught up with Cho right in front of the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. "Did you find it?" she asked.

Harry handed the Omnioculars over to Cho's outstretched hand. "You bet I did. It was right where you thought it might be –- by your seat."

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you!" shrieked a jubilant Cho, throwing her arms around Harry to thank him.

Harry's glasses fogged up slightly from Cho's breath. "You're welcome," he stammered.

Cho pulled out of the hug but kept a hold of Harry's arm as they made their way past the Ravenclaw portrait into their common room. Harry tried to enjoy the moment but he couldn't forget what he saw in Snape's office. With the remarks Snape made, Harry came to the conclusion that the Potions Master's injury must have come at the hand –- or mouths –- of the three-headed guard dog dwelling in the forbidden corridor.

* * *

The following morning brought clear skies and a cold breeze. A sense of anticipation spread throughout the halls of Hogwarts, and when the time arrived for Ravenclaw's match against Hufflepuff, it seemed as if the whole school came out to the stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch. 

Nymphadora and Daphne showed up early –- pulling a slightly groggy Hannah along with them –- and grabbed spots as close to the field as they could get in the Hufflepuff section of the stands. The green from Daphne's Slytherin outfit, and the blue tone of Nym's hair caused the trio to stand out amongst the yellow throng of Hufflepuff and receive more than a few curious glances.

While the buzz from the crowd began to reach frenzy, Harry and the rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team were in their locker room, changing into their blue Quidditch robes.

Sutcliffe, having already finished dressing, was pacing in front of a dusty chalkboard.

"Okay, team," he said as he slowed to a stop. "Today is when we set the expectations for Ravenclaw for the rest of the season. All of the other teams have a weak spot, but we got an upgrade." Sutcliffe turned and gestured at Harry sitting on a bench. "With our new chaser, we get name recognition, and a talented player. Now let's go out there and win!"

"Hear, hear!" chorused the entire team.

Sutcliffe pushed open the door and held it that way while the rest of the team followed him out –- Harry bringing up the rear. Besides being the youngest, Harry also happened to be the shortest player on the team. His fellow Chasers, fifth year Emma Jennings and third year Roger Davies, were on either side of him as they walked to the field. Emma was maturing into a young woman, and Roger had just hit a growth spurt recently, leaving a dramatic difference in size between them and the fresh faced Harry.

David Sutcliffe, a sixth year who was the team captain and a Beater, led the way to the center of the pitch where Madam Hooch –- the referee for Hogwarts matches –- was waiting for them. Despite the gentle smile that had no trouble dazzling the girls of Hogwarts, Sutcliffe fit the typical Beater profile; he had great hand-eye coordination that helped dislodge opponents on the pitch. His fellow Beater, third year Thomas Hopkirk, was entering only his second year at the position and clearly didn't have Sutcliffe's talent. His slightly hefty frame added power to his swing when hitting Bludgers but Thomas was more known as the practical joker of the team, much to the chagrin of his older sister, the recently graduated Mafalda Hopkirk.

Lanky sixth year Mark Stevens played Seeker for Ravenclaw, and walking next to him was fourth year Anthony Adams, a dark-skinned lad who held down the Keeper spot. Anthony shot Harry a grin when he noticed the nervous Chaser glancing at the various teammates.

Once the team finally reached Madam Hooch and the awaiting Hufflepuff team, the stadium commentator announced the starting lineups. Madam Hooch opened her mouth to speak to give out last minute instructions when an overwhelming roar came from the crowd; Harry had just been introduced as a starting Chaser for Ravenclaw. Flashbulbs went off throughout the crowd, and girls shrieked. Even from his position on the pitch Harry could clearly hear a few girls shouting 'I love you, Harry!' He couldn't help but turn slightly pink from all of the adoration. Roger and Emma -- who were standing right next to him -- shared a laugh at Harry's display of discomfort.

It took a few minutes but once the crowd noise died down to a respectable level, Madam Hooch attempted her speech again. "It seems this place will always be full of excitement with you around, Potter." She smirked at Harry before redirecting her attention to the rest of the players surrounding her. "I expect a fair game out there today." The Hufflepuff team quietly snorted at her statement.

"It's time to mount your brooms now." Madam Hooch reached for the whistle hanging around her neck and gave out a loud blast.

Harry quickly climbed onto his Cleansweep Seven, and joined the rest of his team in rising high into the air in unison. The Quaffle was immediately grabbed by a Hufflepuff Chaser and everyone went to make chase.

The speed of the game hit Harry immediately as a slip in concentration left him at the back of the pack currently chasing down the Hufflepuff Chaser. Before he knew it, the Chaser had attempted a shot on goal and Anthony Adams had blocked it. The Quaffle was thrown to Roger Davies and Harry performed a quick flip, changing direction as Ravenclaw headed up the pitch.

Harry and Emma exchanged looks and began performing a planned play. Harry drove his broom into a dive across the field as Roger lazily lofted the Quaffle out to him. Harry snatched it out of the air, bringing the Quaffle to his chest securely before dipping under the nearby Hufflepuff Chaser and skillfully avoiding a Bludger hit in his direction. Harry's open path however quickly disappeared when the two remaining Hufflepuff Chasers closed in. Unfazed, Harry continued on towards the two Chasers seemingly intent to just barrel through the players. Inches away from collision Harry stopped abruptly, turning around with perfect timing to toss the Quaffle to Emma who was blazing across the other side of the pitch completely unguarded.

"And Potter throws the Quaffle to the side, to a WIDE OPEN EMMA JENNINGS!!" exclaimed Lee Jordan, the Gryffindor third year who had the privilege of announcing Hogwarts matches. "Jennings streaks down the pitch towards the goal posts –- she fakes left and shoots right –- GOAL RAVENCLAW!"

Harry quickly joined Roger in giving Emma a celebratory group hug. The entire stadium cheered at the scoring play, even the Hufflepuffs who gave their appreciation to the execution of the play performed by the Ravenclaw Chasers.

Nym, Daphne and Hannah were the most enthusiastic from the Hufflepuff section. As Harry flew by them -– having just discovered where they were sitting –- Hannah waved, Daphne cheered and Nym blew kisses in his direction. Harry laughed and waved, shaking his head amusedly for a moment before speeding back towards the middle of the field where his teammates were waiting for their opponents to approach.

Just minutes into the match, it became clear that Hufflepuff was paying more attention to Harry on defense compared to the other Ravenclaw chasers. Sutcliffe had expected that strategy to be used when preparing the team for the match, so Ravenclaw exploited the tendency by having Harry create open opportunities for his fellow Chasers instead of trying to be a scoring option.

After deflecting that first shot on goal to start off the match, Anthony did not face many more offensive attacks from Hufflepuff the rest of the day. Sutcliffe and Hopkirk quickly got into a rhythm and their aim with the Bludgers was keeping the Hufflepuff Chasers off balance anytime they made it past their Ravenclaw counterparts.

The Snitch had yet to make an appearance but Stevens kept the Hufflepuff Seeker on her toes, not letting her focus on the pitch to search for the elusive golden prize. Her frustration continued to build until she let out a series of shouts that left Stevens quite embarrassed.

"I wouldn't want to be in Stevens' shoes right now," announced Lee Jordan as he surveyed the pitch. "I heard he and Simms went to Hogsmeade together a few times last year. It seems like she doesn't feel the same way this year!"

Harry laughed along with the crowd at his teammate's mid-air love quarrel, but the winds blowing around the pitch prevented anyone else from noticing. The jovial atmosphere and great preparation did wonders in calming Harry's nerves. The match was fast paced and time flew quickly for the players. Nearly one hour into the match, Harry had taken only two shots on goal, with one of them getting by the Hufflepuff Keeper for a score. The rest of the goals scored by Ravenclaw were off decoy plays where Harry had passed the Quaffle to a wide open Emma or Roger, who proceeded to score. Ravenclaw was winning one hundred and thirty to fifty; however with the Golden Snitch still up for grabs, they could not let up the intensity for fear of the game-ending catch not going in their favor.

Diving away from a Bludger, Harry found himself in front of the Ravenclaw section of the stands. Taking a quick glance, Harry located where Penelope was sitting in the stands –- next to an anxious-looking Cho –- and after giving a wave, was heading back towards the action when his broom gave off a sudden lurch.

Harry nearly lost his balance, staying aboard by clutching tightly to his broom with his gloved hands and padded knees. In all of his years of flying, he'd never had a broom buck on him like a rogue bronco before. If there was one taboo in Quidditch, it was the bewitching of a broomstick; the sport was dangerous enough without tampering the ride. Harry found it slightly distracting that his proximity to the stands let him clearly hear panicked yells and girls shrieking in fright as he struggled to hold onto the jerking broomstick.

He tried his hardest to pull the broom in any one direction but it was completely unresponsive, leaving him stranded high in the air. The whole Quidditch match stopped for a moment, completely mystified by the actions of Harry and the Cleansweep Seven he was riding. The Hufflepuff Chasers who were in possession of the Quaffle seemed to hesitate before realizing their advantage and moving forward to try a scoring attempt.

Emma and Roger were torn between attempting to aid Harry and helping defend the oncoming Hufflepuff Chasers. Sutcliffe made the decision for them, directing the two Chasers to stay on their opponents while he and Hopkirk went to help Harry.

During those few moments of indecision the uncontrollable broom started performing rolls and seemingly impossible twists before giving a lurch so wild that Harry was swung right off the broom. Only his quick reflexes kept Harry from falling as he reached out and gained a grip on the wayward Cleansweep Seven; leaving Harry dangling from the broom while only his glasses fell rapidly to the pitch below.

The frightening scene above was all Harry's friends needed to jump into action and look for a solution before it was too late. Nym dashed through the stands in an effort to get closer towards Harry's location while Daphne and Hannah scanned the stands for any possible reason for Harry's predicament. It looked like the young girls' search was going to end unsuccessful when a gasp from Daphne drew Hannah's attention.

"What is it?" she asked, moving to Daphne's side. "Did you find who it is?"

"I don't believe it," Daphne muttered softly, pointing in the direction of the Slytherin box. Severus Snape was standing at the railing of the stands and seemed to be chanting something while staring at Harry hanging from the broom.

A burning anger grew in the normally shy and calm Hufflepuff. Hannah let out a low growl and sped through the stands towards Snape, not waiting for Daphne to follow. Once in range of the greasy professor, Hannah whipped out her wand and sent a flame charm – originally taught to start a small log fire – at Snape's robes, creating chaos in the stands.

Hannah's interference did the trick though as Harry easily climbed back onto his now still broom. The rest of the Quidditch players were distracted by the panic below. Snape's flailed his arms about to and fro, fighting to get his robes off and the nearby students scattered to avoid catching fire. Everyone in the stands grabbed a hold of their seats as the stands began to rock back and forth with the amount of students scrambling around. Throughout the ruckus Stevens was one of the few to keep his eye on the pitch and was rewarded by a flash of gold. He quickly made a dive and moments later Ravenclaw had snatched victory in the crazy match, two hundred and eighty to sixty.

A loud cheer from the Ravenclaw section quickly broke through the noise and celebrations began to take place in the stands instead. Once Harry escaped from the rowdy Ravenclaw locker room, he was intercepted by his friends and thoroughly smothered and congratulated. Once Harry had eased the worries of the girls – Penelope in particular had a hard time letting him out of her embrace – he noticed the slightly pouty look on Daphne along with the irritated one on Hannah. He was able to convince the girls to make a stop at Hagrid's Hut for a cup of tea to soothe everyone's nerves.

Hagrid eagerly welcomed the group into his home and praised Harry for his play in such an 'odd match'. Everyone did their best to fit in the small hut and squeezed together in some places. Despite the cozy atmosphere, there was still a tension in the air between the girls. Hannah seemed to be staring at her cup of tea with an intensity Harry couldn't remember ever seeing on the blonde Hufflepuff. Daphne stared absentmindedly out the window while petting Fang. Nym and Penelope didn't seem to have much on their minds but worry as they kept close to Harry – sitting on either side of him in fact.

Harry had barely taken a sip of his tea when Daphne blurted, "It was Snape."

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "What was Snape?"

"He was what caused Harry's broom trouble," replied Hannah. "Daphne pointed him out and I set his robes on fire to distract him."

Harry's eyes widened and Nym spat her tea all over the front of her robes. "You caused that mess in the stands?!" she asked incredulously, a touch of admiration in her voice.

Hannah blushed wildly but was saved from replying when Hagrid denied Snape's involvement.

"I just don't understand it," said Daphne, turning her head from the window to gaze at Harry. "You might not be on his favorite list, Harry, but I didn't think he'd actually resort to attacking you. Especially in public, that's not very Slytherin of him."

"Slytherin of him? He's a teacher!" shouted Penelope. "How can we be safe in school if we can't even trust our professors?"

Harry raised his hand to quell the emotions before they got out of hand. "Besides what he thinks of me and my family, Snape isn't squeaky clean. I think he got injured trying to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. His leg was in a bad way the other night."

"Three-headed dog?" asked a shocked Penelope. The arm she had around Harry loosened its grip so she could shift and face Harry more easily. "Where in Hogwarts would you see such a thing? I would think I'd have seen it."

"In the Forbidden Corridor," answered Harry timidly.

Surprised by the admission, the room reacted accordingly. Nym and Daphne choked on their tea; Hannah and Penelope exchanged looks of disbelief, and Hagrid dropped his teapot.

"How do you know about Fluffy?" asked Hagrid.

"_Fluffy?_" repeated Daphne.

"He's mine," answered Hagrid. "I bought him off a bloke last year. I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the …" Hagrid's speech trailed off suddenly and the half-giant tried to busy himself with refilling everyone's cups.

"The …" Nym gestured with her hands, imploring Hagrid to continue.

"'nuff of that rubbish," said Hagrid, keeping his gaze away from Harry's suddenly eager green eyes. "That's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicholas Flamel."

"Alright, Hagrid," agreed Harry, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Then who's Nicholas Flamel?"


End file.
